Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Manuel and Kimberley Azevedo, owners of La Salette Restaurant.
Customers at LaSalette may not realize it, but every time they dine at the restaurant they are helping children in need. Owners Manuel and Kimberly Azevedo have established LaSalette Restaurant Children’s Charities and will contribute 10 percent of the annual profits each year to nonprofit organizations that improve the lives of at-risk children. “It’s our 10th year in business,” said Manuel Azevedo, “and we wanted to do something to give back to the community that has given us so much.”
When he was two years old, Azevedo and his family moved to Sonoma from the Azores Islands – a part of the Portuguese Republic. He grew up with the influences of his new surroundings and his Portuguese family. He learned to cook in his mother’s kitchen and later apprenticed for five years at the Kenwood Restaurant. Azevedo also studied what he terms the “physics of food,” gaining an understanding of the interactions of ingredients and what makes foods create specific tastes.
When Azevedo opened LaSalette, he knew he was taking a risk with an ethnic menu that was unfamiliar, but word of mouth spread from patrons who tried the flavorful Portuguese cuisine and told their friends. “The more adventuresome diners tried dishes I recommended and discovered new taste sensations. Over time we developed a very loyal clientele.”
The restaurant, which was originally located on Highway 12, moved to its present site in the Mercado Center on the plaza in 2004 and much of his staff has remained with him, including two employees who have been at LaSalette since 1998. “I love working with the people here,” said Azevedo. “They understand what we are trying to do with our new charitable program, and they are all very proud to be part of making it happen.”
The Azevedos chose children’s charities that they personally knew of through friends and relatives who had received assistance from them. The organizations they are funding are Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma, WillMar Center for Bereaved Children, Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance, La Luz Center, Hanna Boys Center, Social Advocates for Youth, Luso-American Education Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House.
“I always felt there was a ‘restaurant angel’ looking over me,” said Azevedo, “and I made a promise to that angel that if we succeeded, I would find a way to give something back to the community. Now I am able to fulfill that promise.”
