Ottavio Belvedere, owner of Camarillo landmark, dies at 74
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

Ottavio Belvedere

Ottavio Belvedere, longtime Camarillo restaurateur, died earlier this month from cancer.

Surrounded by his family, the 74-year-old owner of Ottavio's Italian Restaurant succumbed to mesothelioma on Nov. 1 at his Camarillo home.

The family had gathered just five days before to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of Ottavio and Noella.

Born in Sicily, Italy, on Oct. 20, 1933, Ottavio moved to Canada in 1951. He married Noella in 1957.

With three young children, the Belvederes moved to Camarillo and opened a downtown pizza kitchen in 1969. Their children- Julie, Ric and Lenny- grew up serving customers and helping in the kitchen.

The Belvederes moved operations a mile or so down Ventura Boulevard a few years later to a building visible from the 101 Freeway and changed the name to Ottavio's Italian Restaurant.

Over time, the restaurant has become a landmark for travelers and a county fixture. It has thrived for more than three decades because Ottavio made customers feel as though they were a part of the family, the Belvederes said.

At the first restaurant, customers in the dining room often heard Ottavio singing in the kitchen, and friends who dropped by to say hello would feel comfortable enough to roll up their sleeves and join him in making bread.

"He had this fantastic smile on him," Noella said of her husband. "He was just a very warm guy."

She said that photographs of Ottavio smiling sit in every room of their home.

Ric Belvedere, who partnered with his father four years ago to open up the family's second eatery, Ric's Restaurant on Las Posas Road in Camarillo, described Ottavio as a longtime supporter of community organizations and a generous philanthropist.

"He never turned away a charity," Ric, 48, said.

Vanessa Gillette said her grandfather always put family first. A man with a hearty sense of humor, Ottavio often elicited chuckles from his family by simply speaking certain words or phrases with his thick Italian accent, she said.

"He was the kind of person nobody ever forgets," Gillette, 28, said.

Her mother, Julie Belvedere Thomason, said she grew up in a close-knit family that played and worked together.

"We did everything as a family; that was a big thing with my dad, and my mom, too," Thomason said.

The family said they appreciate the outpouring of prayers and expressions of love and concern shown by the community, restaurant patrons and former employees.

Ottavio Belvedere is survived by his wife, Noella; children Julie, 49, Ric, 48, and Lenny, 47; seven grandchildren; and two greatgrandchildren.