Italian eatery says <i>’Ciao’</i>

In the late 1960s, Cal Calentino retired from law enforcement at his wife’s behest. Looking for something new, Calentino and his wife, Jo Calentino, decided to open an authentic Italian restaurant and deli based on good old home cooking.

What the family created went beyond freshly cooked pastas, sauces and meats. What they made in Costa Mesa was a community center. Photos of the Calentino family line the wall, as do photos of local sports teams that Cal Calentino has supported in his time as a business owner in the city.

But Cal and Jo Calentino will be making their last pots of sauce and serving the last meatball sandwiches Sunday.

“I don’t know where the time has gone; I thought this would be a seven- or eight-year thing, and it turned out to be 37 years plus,” Cal Calentino said.

“We really have mixed emotions about this,” he said. “When you spend that many years being in one place, interacting with people over the years, it can be emotional.”

He described some of his customers coming in with cards, gifts and tear-filled eyes when they heard the news that he was closing up shop.

Costa Mesa resident Bob Rodrigo hasn’t deviated from his usual sausage sandwich with peppers and onions since he started coming to the shop in 1969. Rodrigo graduated from Orange Coast College that year. Despite always being on the lookout for a place to eat, Rodrigo said he inevitably ends up at Calentino’s asking for his usual, which many times includes a half-pint of macaroni salad, a Heineken and a bag of chips.

“I’m going to have a hard time finding a new place to go,” Rodrigo said as he waited for his sandwich. “But I guess I’ll have to rediscover and find a new place.”

While Rodrigo starts his search for a new, consistently good place to eat with a friendly atmosphere, the Calentinos will get some much-needed rest and will be able to attend to issues they’ve had to put off.

Cal Calentino has been putting off surgery for quite some time and will finally have the time to recoup so he and his wife can spend more time with their grandchildren.

Despite business being “better than it has ever been” and getting numerous offers to sell the restaurant, Cal Calentino doesn’t want to sell his name or recipes.

The husband-and-wife team has always gone into the restaurant an hour and a half before opening to start making the 11 gallons of sauce, and the two usually didn’t get home till 11 p.m., Jo Calentino said as she monitored pots of sauces and pasta cooking on the stove.

“I love reading the newspaper and haven’t been able to read all the articles doing this,” she said. “After Sunday, I’ll be able to read the whole paper, and it’s going to be a luxury.”

Calentino’s will be open till 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1 to celebrate the new year with loyal customers. Some of the restaurant’s first employees will be putting on aprons to help serve.

“There are so many memorable moments,” Cal Calentino said. “When you stay in one location long enough, you see a lot of your life pass right in front of you.”

For a last bite, visit Calentino’s at 2750 Harbor Blvd., at Adams Avenue.