A Little (More) Italy

The scene: A crush of South Coast Metro-ites attended the grand opening Wednesday of Maggiano’s Little Italy and the Corner Bakery at South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa. Hundreds attended the fling at the ‘40s-style restaurant, where owners presented a check for $5,000 to Mercy House Transitional Living Centers of Santa Ana.

Not so Little Italy: Guests (most in 9-to-5 wear) wended their way through the 12,500-square-foot structure, where room after room was loaded with Italian fare--from corkscrew pasta to Nonna’s pound cake. “And to think I thought about having a hamburger tonight,” joked David Levak of Irvine. “I feel like I’m in Manhattan at some Italian deli.”

Guests lucky enough to find a seat--the prized location being one of the cushy red booths lining the walls--were served family-style, with oval platters piled with pastas, salads, calamari, chicken and beef. Overheard: “I’m going to go work out after this!”

Start spreadin’ the news: Fashioned after a classic New York City dinner house, the free-standing $3.8-million restaurant features oak and mosaic tile floors, mahogany-paneled walls and large round tables topped with crisp red-and-white checkered cloths. In case anybody didn’t get the message (that this is a hip, old-fashioned kind of place), a framed photograph of Frank Sinatra hangs on a wall behind the reservation desk. “We love his music,” a staff member gushed.

Helping the homeless: Among guests was Father Jerome Karcher, founder of the Mercy House shelters--Joseph House for single men and Regina House for single mothers and their children. Each has a capacity of about 25 residents. “We help employable men and women,” said Karcher, son of hamburger mogul Carl Karcher. “In order to live in our facility, the men and women have to find employment so they can pay off their bills, set themselves up to live independently. We don’t want someone to go through our program and end up back in the street.”

A third shelter--Emmanuel House for homeless people with HIV or AIDS--will open in Santa Ana next year, said Larry Haynes, director of Mercy House. “We’ve gotten a good start--have most of the money we need for the new house,” he said.

Quote: “Many people who have gone through our program come back to offer themselves as role models. It’s beautiful,” Karcher said.

Faces: Richard Melman, president of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (owners of the restaurant); Mark Tormey, president of Maggiano’s; Jeff Goudie; Dirk Smith; Billur Wallerich; Dana Eggerts; John Martin; Tim and Anne Evans Quinn; and Ron McDougal.