DeVito to Open Restaurant in South Beach

Jun 21, 07:49 PM

Current Headlines: Actor Danny DeVito played a rude taxi dispatcher, a divorce lawyer, a shady sidekick and a penguin -- and now he'll play restaurateur at his place in Florida.

DeVito South Beach, an Italian classic-meets-contemporary restaurant in Miami, has been in the works for about two years. The plan formed while the actor was vacationing with his wife, Cheers alum Rhea Perlman, and ran into South Florida financier Michael Brauser, who talked up the idea, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

While being a restaurant partner wasn't on DeVito's to-do list, it is a good fit. He grew up around food and its preparation in southern New Jersey, where his dad owned a luncheonette and his mom cooked at home.

My mother was literally cooking morning till night. She'd start making the zeppole at 6 a.m., he told the Herald. There was always an aunt or a cousin coming in or out. Uncle Joe made the wine from scratch; my father caught the fish.

DeVito helped determine the restaurant's cuisine, but credits his other partner, David Manero, and chef Francis Casciato with creating a menu of fresh seafood and prime meats such as Kurobuta pork from Japan.