A South Jersey restaurateur and former Philadelphia Mafia associate has filed for bankruptcy.
Kitchen Consigliere Cafe, LLC, the Collingswood, NJ Italian restaurant known as The Kitchen Consigliere, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reporting more than $386,000 in debts, according to NJ.com.
The petition was filed by owner Angelo Lutz on September 2 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. Debts are spread across 46 listed creditors, including the NJ Division of Taxation, which the business owes just over $100,000.
The filing does not mean Kitchen Consigliere will close. Instead, Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows Lutz to reorganize debts and continue operating while working toward financial stability.
Angelo Lutz’s Redemption Arc
Before opening the Collingswood red sauce joint, Lutz was associated with the Philadelphia crime family, led by Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino. In 2001, he was convicted of racketeering charges, eventually serving four years in prison.
Apparently, cooking was a big part of that sentence. “I made great gravy in jail,” Lutz stated in a past interview with NJ.com. “We used to get whole tomatoes in the box … garlic and olive oil. I ate pasta seven days a week.” I guess Goodfellas wasn’t exaggerating with that prison dinner scene.
Upon release, Lutz decided to put those cooking chops to work. He opened The Kitchen Consigliere in 2008—the mob-themed BYOB is a favorite in the neighborhood for Italian-American staples like crispy fried calamari, polenta cakes with sausage bolognese, Cioppino, Veal Parmesan, and the famous Sunday Gravy, loaded with tender braised spare ribs, meatballs, sausage, and braciole.
In 2016, The Kitchen Consigliere was named a semifinalist for best Italian restaurant in New Jersey.
A restaurant forged by a redemption arc at the hands of an ex-Mafia associate now faces an entirely different financial battle. The Kitchen Consigliere will continue to operate while Lutz navigates the bankruptcy process. If his story is any indication, it’s a battle that can be overcome.
Peter Candia is the Food + Drink Editor at New Jersey Digest. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Peter found a passion for writing midway through school and never looked back. He is a former line cook, server and bartender at top-rated restaurants in the tri-state area. In addition to food, Peter enjoys politics, music, sports and anything New Jersey.
