I Love Gigi’s — A Love Letter to Nonno and the Summers That Shaped a Life

In a small town in northern Italy, two young brothers spent their childhood chasing summer across the hills. While their days in the village were full of routine and rhythm, it was the long-awaited trips to their grandfather’s farm that lit their imaginations and shaped their hearts.

His name was Luigi Zuliani (yes, the same Luigi who inspired Ask for Luigi), but no one close to him ever called him that. To family and friends, he was simply Gigi. And to his grandchildren, he was always Nonno Gigi—a name wrapped in love, worn smooth by a thousand memories.

Nonno Gigi’s farm sat just beyond the last bend in the road, nestled among soft, rolling vineyards and groves of fruit trees that shimmered under the Friulian sun. The land was quiet but alive. There were animals to feed, rows of vines to walk, and stone fruit to gather by hand—always under the watchful eye of their Nonno, whose presence was as steady and reassuring as the hills themselves.

In the cool of the cantina, Gigi would slice his prosciutto and pour his wine from barrels he’d filled the season before. Evenings spilled into night with dinners that lasted for hours—homemade pasta, grilled meats, stories told between bites and laughter that drifted into the vines.

For the boys, those summers were magic. They weren’t vacations—they were homecomings. Lessons were learned there, not just about food and farming, but about love, generosity, and what it means to feed people from the heart.

“I Love Gigi’s” is a tribute to that time. To a man whose hands worked the soil and whose spirit filled a table. To the traditions of Italy. To the smell of ripe peaches in the air and sauce bubbling on the stove. To the idea that food is memory—and that memory lives on in every meal we share.

This restaurant is not just a name. It’s a feeling. A return. A love letter to Nonno Gigi—and to the beautiful life he showed two young brothers, one summer at a time.