Mom has always had a special place at Iggy's

Sally Gravino dressed for the occasion. In fact, she was better dressed than everyone else who showed up at Iggy’s Boardwalk at 9 a.m. on July 4. Most of those in attendance were wearing shorts, short-sleeve shirts and sandals.

There was good reason for Sally’s string of pearls, earrings and carefully coiffed hair. She had been told this was going to be the grand opening of the Boardwalk, a place that has been a part of her life for the past three decades. Granted she was somewhat mystified since her son, David, and daughter, MaryAnn Soares, opened the Boardwalk, which had run under other names, after extensive renovations about two years ago.

Why now, and why on Independence Day?

Sally didn’t question David and showed up as instructed. She wasn’t left clueless for long. Serving as master of ceremonies, David gathered the assembly at the flagpole to talk about his mother.

He told how she insisted that all the bills get paid before anything was taken out of the proceeds when she and her husband, Gaetano, ran the doughboys and chowder business that has become a bedrock to Oakland Beach. Iggy’s now has three locations and employs 240. David spoke of the values his mother instilled in him, his sister and his brother, Gaetano.

“We love you very much. She’s the heart of the family and the business,” he said.

Then he made it clear to his mother what everybody else already knew. The park-like space outside the restaurant with its flagpole was being dedicated to her. David leaned over to lift a cloth from a boulder with a brass plaque declaring the affection and appreciation of the three children.

Sally choked up. She acknowledged what her children have achieved, adding, “Everything we are and everything we have is through God.”

In the gathering were Southern Giroux and his wife Barbara. Giroux sold the business to Gaetano and Sally about 30 years ago. That transaction came after a long association. Gaetano worked for Giroux when he bought the establishment. The building was in shambles. Giroux learned of a school near Miriam Hospital built in 1924 and was being torn down. He bought the salvage rights to the school and took many of the windows for the place in Oakland Beach.

A clam shack at the site of Iggy’s was part of the business. Giroux remembers turning over the shack to Gaetano to run. He then told him he should own it, but Gaetano said he didn’t have the money.

“I told him we’re partners. Throw me a bone once in a while,” Giroux said.

Gaetano said his family, who were all working for Giroux, would be going with him. Giroux drew the line, insisting that MaryAnn stay with him.

“Your daughter is the best waitress I’ve got, you’re not taking her,” he remembers saying.

Two to three weeks later he relented and the Gravino family was united in running the business. David recalls his mother making the red chowder sauce – her own recipe – at home since the shack had a tiny kitchen. The entire shack was 350 square feet.

“You couldn’t do that today,” David said of the home cooking.

After her husband died in 1994, Sally ran the business.

There was more than sauce and paying the bills that David learned from his mother. She didn’t compromise on quality and she put in hours of hard work.

“She kept us focused. These are values we try to teach our employees and our kids,” said David.

Mayor Scott Avedisian, a friend of the family for years, recognized how the Gavinos put their faith in Oakland Beach and risked a lot. Councilwoman Donna Travis noted that how just the night before the line outside Iggy’s stretched more than a block and there was a two-hour wait for doughboys and chowder.

“You know they’re doing something right if people are waiting that long,” she told the gathering.

Now retired from the business, Sally makes a habit of visiting almost every day to see the family. She sees no need to make chowder any longer at home. After all, she said, “that’s my recipe.”

She’s not checking up on how the place is run. She doesn’t need to.

“They do a superb job, they’re very dedicated,” she said of her children.

She finds that “everybody seems to love it.” Naturally, she does, too.

“It’s like a tropical island,” she said.