For 30 years, Noodles Italian Cafe & Sushi Bar served the unlikely yet successful combination of pasta and sushi to an enthusiastic following. Last September, brothers Matt and Seth Berman sold the restaurant to a family that renamed it Giuseppe and the Lion. The name stems from a moniker (Giuseppe) given to the restaurant’s cofounder and CEO, Joseph Sutherland, by his grandmother, as well as from the Chinese zodiac symbol of the lion, claimed by his father-in-law and cofounder, Leo Hertzog. Since taking over, the new owners have remodeled the dining room and added a large stage to accommodate live entertainment. Although the sushi bar was replaced by that stage, sushi remains on the menu.
“We are still looking to remodel the bathrooms and enhance the sound system to be able to host national acts,” Sutherland says.
Giuseppe’s specializes in its Sunday Tomato Gravy—known to most as red sauce—made from Sutherland’s grandmother’s recipe. “It’s a prominent ingredient on several of the Italian dishes,” he explains. Customer favorites include chicken Parmesan, bone-in veal chop Parmesan, shrimp and scallop risotto, and sushi rolls.
Giuseppe and the Lion is a true family affair, with Sutherland serving as CEO; his wife, Tiffany, as CFO; his daughter, Alexandra, as general manager; Hertzog as chairman of the board; and Hertzog’s wife, Jean, as chief decorating officer.
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