DU QUOIN -- Well-known Du Quoin restaurateur, economic development director and philanthropist John Alongi died Saturday at the age of 92.
Alongi and his brother, Jerome "Mimi" Alongi, inherited the family business -- a saloon owned by Sicilian immigrants originally known as "Guy's Place" -- in 1953. According to the Alongi's Italian Restaurant website, the business grew under its new name of "Alongi's" and is believed to be the first to introduce pizza to Southern Illinoisans.
John was famous for telling stories or talking politics, while "Mimi" collected baseball memorabilia and scouted for the New York Mets. The brothers sold one million pizzas and five million glasses of Budweiser in their time as owners. Celebrities from the state fair such as Red Skelton, Sonny & Cher, Connie Stevens and great sports personalities such as Stan Musial, Joe Garagiola and Jack Buck have visited Alongi's.
Because of John and Jerome's work, as well as the work of their children who followed them from the mid 1980s forward, the restaurant has been recognized by multiple publications as one of the top independent Italian restaurants in the nation.
Mayor Guy Alongi said his uncle, John, and father, Jerome "Mimi" Alongi, built a successful business over the years with an attention to detail and customer service.
"My uncle was known to walk up to a table at the restaurant that had small children and ask the parents if he could take them and walk them around, showing them off to other customers as if they were his own children or grandchildren," the mayor said. "If a child was crying, he always had the ability to make that child laugh while the parents enjoyed their meal. Johnny just loved kids!
"He was always in a sports coat and always had a smile, always asked how you and your family were doing. Legends pass on, my father in 2002 and now Johnny in 2019. His sons, Guy and John, along with their mother, Betty, and sister, Rosalie, will make sure their father's legacy moves forward for many more years to come."
John's son, Guy Alongi (not Guy the Du Quoin mayor), said it would be "tough to put into perspective" what his father meant to his family, business and community.
"I guess I would say that family always came first with my dad. He wanted to make sure his family was taken care of and then he wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to him and his family."
John Alongi served on the board of the Du Quoin State Bank for 30 years, was the economic development director for Congressmen Ken Gray and Glenn Poshard, a lifelong member of the American Legion and VFW, having served in Korea with the Army, and a longtime member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin and the Knights of Columbus. He was also a founding member of Du Quoin Coats for Kids and established a scholarship in the family name at Southern Illinois University.
"My dad had the ability to talk to anybody about anything," Guy Alongi said. "Politics, investments, anything. He was so well read. and so great at telling stories. He lived a long, full life, and we're going to miss him,"
A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10 a.m. today (Tuesday) at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Du Quoin, with Father Joseph Oganda officiating. Military graveside rites will be conducted by the Du Quoin V.F.W., American Legion and the Army National Guard.
Burial will be in the Sacred Heart Cemetery at Du Quoin.
