Westport Island resident and Squire Tarbox Inn proprietor Mario De Pietro was among 36,000 new American citizens who took their oath of citizenship Thursday, Sept. 17, the day this country observes Citizenship Day as part of Constitution Week, which observes the signing of the Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrates the occasion with special naturalization ceremonies across the country each year on that date.
De Pietro took his oath of citizenship at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, and is now an American citizen after being in this country since 1969. He was born and raised in Basel, Switzerland. He attended Switzerland’s chef apprentice school for three years, a trade he continues today at the inn.
During those three years, he attended the apprentice trade school two days a week, and the remainder of the week he worked in many different restaurants. Besides working in Switzerland, he worked in Italy, Germany, France, and England, not just as a chef but also as a waiter.
It was in England he met his wife, Roni, who was born in New York and raised in London. In 1968, Roni was hired as a stewardess for American World Airways and left for the U.S. in April 1969. The couple was married in October 1969 in England. Mario came to New York a couple of weeks later, when his visa came through, and began working as a pastry chef in the Four Seasons restaurants. He was later appointed as the corporate chef for about 50 restaurants in New York. Mario and Roni have two children, Kyle and Lara, who now live in Maine.
After working in New York for several years and after the children had left home, Mario said he and Roni wanted to do something else. He said he was always interested in farming, the hotel business, and the restaurant business. They first began looking in Vermont for a place to settle. The former owner of the Inn, Bill Mitman, placed an ad in the Sunday Times that intrigued Mario. He said that he and Roni came down and looked at the inn and decided to buy it in 2002.
The couple has run the inn since 2002, making some changes, but preserving the character of the inn. The Squire Tarbox Inn restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday for dinner from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday is pizza night at the inn. Mario said Monday Pizza Night has become a popular event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Although the De Pietros, for the last 13 years, have had a successful run, they have put the inn up for sale and are looking forward to retiring from the business. The good news is, they will remain on the island in a home they have purchased away from the inn.
Reflecting on why, after being in this country for 46 years, he decided to become an American citizen, Mario said, “This country has been good to me, and it is my turn to give something back.”
“I have always been so busy working, I have never had time to give back to the town,” De Pietro said. “After the inn is sold I intend to volunteer time to Westport Island and get involved in town affairs.”
The Squire Tarbox Inn is a historic site on the island. The original house was built in 1763, with an addition built on in 1820.
