Panino's Uncorks Celebration of 10 Years On Main St.

MONROE — Couples having been bringing their own bottles of wine into the dimly lit dining area of Panino's restaurant, 179 Main Street, for the past decade. Waitstaff opens the bottles without charging a corking fee and patrons order meals like Teriyaki Ahi Sesame Tuna and Lobster Pappardelle.

"We're just one of a handful of BYOB's in Fairfield County that, not only has an Italian menu, we have a seafood menu. We have grilled fillet mignon tips served over a gorgonzola cheese sauce," owner Gary Seri said of Panino's menu.

Seri bristles at the sight of the words "Pizza" and "Pasta" flanking "Panino's" on the restaurant's sign facing Main Street.

"We're labeled 'pizza and pasta', but we're a high end restaurant in a casual setting," he said Wednesday. "We have a very loyal fan base, and more people who discover us become regular customers."

Off of the seafood menu, Seri mentioned a Key Lime grilled salmon dish with cilantro sauce.

"One of our appetizers won an award," he added.

Last year, Panino's wild mushroom sea scallops took first prize in The Taste of Danbury. "We won a commercial," he said.

A Special Holiday Offer

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Seri said Panino's is running a special offer where patrons can buy a gift certificate and receive a second of equal value for free.

"That's a very limited supply, so act fast," Seri said. "We want people to try our restaurant."

Panino's also offers a dinner special for a family of four — only for takeout — with chicken, pasta, salad and bread for $20. Seri said his restaurant can prepare the chicken six different ways.

Fun for Kids

Panino's is decked out for Christmas with giant snowflakes on the windows and one wall, a polar bear santa, reindeer decorations and holiday wreaths. Christmas stockings that are three-feet-tall hang from a back wall of the dining room.

Seri said the stockings are filled with toys, adding one boy and one girl wins a stocking in a free drawing.

"When you see their faces ... they're priceless," a smiling Seri said of the children opening the stockings.

"We love kids in the restaurant," he said. "I've been known to grab a kid and say, 'Do you want to make your pizza?' And they flip it around in the kitchen."

Panino's has been rented out for pizza making parties and can be rented out for other events. The restaurant also has a catering business with home delivery.

Entertainment, Giving Back

Panino's has entertainment some nights, with late night dinner Jazz and comedy nights. In fact, Seri said three comedians will perform on Jan. 24. All of the entertainment events will raise money for the 26 Sandy Hook families, who lost loved ones in the tragic shooting last year.

"As a resident of Sandy Hook and having owned a restaurant in the town center for two years, I feel very close to the community," Seri said. "Panino's has strong loyalty to Sandy Hook and always will."

Seri used to own the Stone River Grille in Newtown.

Panino's is involved with several communities its customers are from, volunteering by teaching cooking classes in schools in Monroe, Newtown, Easton and Trumbull.

"We just like to be a big part of the community," Seri said.

Keep the Bread & BYOB

Seri had completed a four-year culinary program at Danbury High School and broke into the restaurant business at an early age, before leaving it for 18 years to run a construction company in New Milford. After selling the business, Seri decided to buy Panino's.

"I chose this restaurant because it's intimate. It's quaint and I love being in this community," he said.

Seri said he had changes in mind for Panino's when, "People, one after another, kept saying, 'Don't change the homemade bread,' because they love the homemade bread. And, 'Don't change the BYOB.'"

Seri said patrons have brought in everything from beer and wine to margaritas and martinis.

"We get $10 wines to serious wine collectors, who bring in their own wine, because we have the menu to compliment it," Seri said.

Kimberly Lee of Monroe, a longtime patron of Panino's came in to pick up an order.

"The food is amazing," she said. "I've never been disappointed with the food I've gotten. The servers are always friendly and Gary comes over to the table and talks to my kids all the time — no matter how busy it is."

For more information on Panino's, visit its website or follow it on Facebook.