Local Masonic lodge honors Joe, Josie Russo

By Bennie Scarton Jr.

Published: May 21, 2009

Hay Market Masonic Lodge will present The Grand Lodge of Virginia "Community Builders Award" to a Haymarket business couple June 26.

The recipients of the award are the owners of Giuseppe's Italiano Ristorante, Joe and Josie Russo, who emigrated from Palermo, Sicily.

With little money in their pocket but a willingness for hard work, they saved up enough to move to Gainesville in 1982 and open up a small Italian restaurant near the junction of Interstate 66 and Va. 55.

From these humble beginnings, long hours of work and with more savings accumulated over the years, they moved their establishment to downtown Haymarket, where they opened Giuseppe's in September 2006.

While Joe first came to Brooklyn from Italy, Josie came via South America and then Canada. They have three children—Connie Russo Rogers, Jack Russo and Sal Russo—who are likely to follow in the example of their parents' footsteps and become entrepreneurs some-day.

The Russos attend and support Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville. They donate food to local schools and Joe Russo also donates his time by giving talks to high school students about the restaurant business.

The duo also has sponsored boys and girls sports teams such as the Gainesville-Haymarket Youth Football Grizzlies, the Dominion Valley Sharks and other local leagues.

They employ 15 people in the restaurant.

For reservations to the public event at the restaurant, call 703-609-3800 by June 15. The cost is $35 for the dinner event.

The evening will also honor the widows of Masons.

The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at 15120 Washington St., Haymarket.

Staff writer Bennie Scarton Jr. can be reached at 703-369-6707.