Les Smith has celebrated his 50th, 60th and 65th birthdays at Il Corso but he will have to find somewhere new when he turns 75 in May.
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Owner Carmen Gioia has made the bittersweet decision to sell her iconic Italian restaurant after 29 years on Baylis Street.
The eatery has been there through it all for Les and his wife Mary, two motorcycle enthusiasts aged in their 70s who have been dining there since it opened in 1992.
"We just went there for tea one night. And it was really good," Mary said.
"It's just such a friendly place. The food's great, obviously. That sort of goes without saying."
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The Smiths come in for dinner every Thursday night as part of their weekly ritual, with Mary saying she favours the fish of the day.
Les said he liked to peruse the menu and choose from a few options - "Sometimes pizza, sometimes limone".
"I used to love carbonara but I got off that a long time ago," he said.
They don't usually have dessert though Les said he might order a gelato if he'd eaten something with chilli in it.
The Smiths have celebrated many birthday parties, wedding anniversaries and other special occasions at Il Corso.
"We came for one of the birthdays and we were sitting at this table here and there was an empty chair," Les said.
"And I said, 'They've brought out too many chairs'. And then the door opens and my daughter from Canberra walks in and I didn't know she was coming."
The Il Corso sale will mean a sad farewell to customers like Mary and Les Smith, just two of many Il Corso regulars to whom staff have become like family.
The Smiths have seen Carmen's three sons grow up in the restaurant and have now met chef Nick Gioia's own baby daughter.
"I'd just like to thank Carmen and Nick and the whole family because they've all looked after us really well over a long period of time," Mary said.
Il Corso is up for sale through Country Business Brokers, a division of Wagga-based Peter Campbell Real Estate, for $145,000.
Carmen intends to keep the building and lease the space to the new owners, who she hopes will love the Wagga customers as much as she has.
Mary and Les say they will wait to see who takes over the restaurant before they make a final call on their new Thursday night favourite.
Catie McLeod
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
Catie is a reporter at The Daily Advertiser covering health and Wagga City Council. You can contact her on c.mcleod@dailyadvertiser.com.au or 0475 819 651.
