photo by: Eric Ayres

It was all smiles Wednesday night at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville during the kickoff dinner for the 42nd annual Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival. From left are Anthony “Herk” Sparachane, 2025 Italian American of the Year Beau Catalano and Nick Sparachane.

WHEELING — It felt like a warm and welcoming family reunion Wednesday at Undo’s West in St. Clairsville, where organizers and supporters gathered to celebrate this weekend’s 42nd annual Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival in Wheeling.

Wednesday night’s kickoff dinner served as a platform to formally recognize the hard work of the festival’s board of directors, to salute past chairmen and honorees, thank this year’s many sponsors and to raise a glass to this year’s Italian American of the Year, Beau Catalano.

Tony Filberto, chairman of the festival’s board of directors, said the event has truly become woven into the fabric of the Ohio Valley. It’s a great chance get together and celebrate good food, good friendships and Italian heritage — regardless of your ancestry.

“We’re very proud to carry on the tradition that our founding fathers and the original board of directors started many, many years ago,” Filberto said. “We hope we’ve made them proud, and we hope we carry on the great tradition that they started. People in the Ohio Valley come and enjoy this festival for lots of reasons. They can rekindle some old friendships, make some new friendships and just enjoy a great time at the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival.”

The festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Heritage Port in downtown Wheeling. There will be a wide array of food vendors and entertainment all weekend long.

Sticking with tradition, Wednesday night’s kickoff dinner shed a spotlight on this year’s Italian American of the Year, a ceremonious recognition that has taken place as part of the event’s festivities each year since 1983 (with the exception of the COVID year in 2020, when no festival was held).

Festival President Michele Fabbro noted that Catalano was selected as Italian American of the Year not only because of the love he has for his family and the dedication to his culinary talents and his career as a restauranteur, but also because of the under-the-radar charitable work that he does.

He is a successful businessman and a true Italian American – and it shows in many ways, she noted.

“One of the many things that I love about Beau is that he came to the Ohio Valley in 1985, but he never left his awesome dialect in New York,” Fabbro said. “I just love his accent.”

Soon after making his way to the Ohio Valley, Catalano joined the Sparachane family and began working as a chef at their Benwood restaurant. He would eventually become a partner in the business that today is the region’s renowned Undo’s Family Restaurants.

“I could talk for hours about Beau,” said Anthony “Herk” Sparachane, who introduced Catalano during Wednesday’s dinner. “I’ve seen him do so much, but he’d be the last one to acknowledge his accomplishments.”

They said Catalano was like a brother. In fact, “Herk” Sparachane and Nick Sparachane were past honorees as Italian American of the Year.

“I have to say it only took 40 years to give me this award,” Catalano joked. “But they always say, ‘good things come to people that wait … and wait, and wait … But now I’m not only just the Italian from Brooklyn, I’m officially an Italian American from the valley — a tremendous honor.”

Catalano noted that they built something special with Undo’s Family Restaurants, and it all started with a slice of pizza and a beer (or two … or three …) with Nick Sparachane many years ago. He thanked all those who helped his career along the way, and he especially thanked his wife and family for supporting him and picking him up through all of life’s challenges.

“At the end of the day, nothing happens without family,” he said. “To the board, this amazing community and everyone who has supported me — thank you from the bottom of my heart. I’m proud to be Italian, I’m proud to be part of this Valley. And tonight, I’m proud to be the 2025 Italian American of the Year.”

Catalano received a standing ovation from the enthusiastic crowd. And he offered one piece of advice.

“If there’s one tip I could give you after 40 years of professional cooking — when you’re doing a recipe and it asks for garlic, always add more,” he said. “That’s the Italian way.”