Tony May, the New York City restaurateur who showed consumers there’s far more to fine Italian cuisine than pasta, died Sunday at age 84, according to his daughter and fellow restaurateur Marisa May.
No cause was revealed for his death, though reports from sources close to the family say May had suffered a short illness.
May—born Antony Magliolo—was perhaps best known for San Domenico, the New York fine-dining establishment that featured authentic fare that some characterized as the cuisine of Italian aristocracy. The dishes were upscale and flavorful yet still simple in their preparation.
The restaurant also sported a carefully curated list of Italian wines, a passion of May’s.
He opened San Domenico in 1988 and ran it until it was acquired in 2008.
May’s other restaurants included Palio, a place themed after the famously dangerous horse race that’s held in Sienna, and PastaBreak, an early fast-casual venture located in the World Trade Center. It was destroyed on 9/11. He had a second restaurant at Ground Zero, Gemelli, that was also destroyed.
Before opening those establishments, May ran and held a stake in the Rainbow Room, the landmark Manhattan restaurant that’s perched above Rockefeller Center.
Throughout his time as a restaurant proprietor, the Italian native strived to popularize the regional cuisine of his homeland. Those efforts include the launch of May-Mei Italian Culinary Academy, a cooking school that provided a brief but comprehensive introduction to Mediterranean preparation methods.
He was also involved with the Culinary Institute of America and Johnson & Wales, two of the industry’s premier culinary schools.
May was a past director of the National Restaurant Association.
A website focused on May’s culinary career, TonyMayNY.com, features this assessment from famed New York magazine food writer Gael Greene of the Italian restaurateur’s influence:
“Tony May awakened New Yorkers to the wondrous variety of Italy’s regional cooking. Eating Italian in this town just keeps getting better and better. Italy owes him a debt and so do we.”
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