Chicago, Illinois · Founded 1930
A continuously family-run Chicago Italian-American restaurant since 1930, known for cash-only chalkboards and a 2008 James Beard Foundation America’s Classic honor.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap opened in Chicago in 1930 when Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono established a family barroom and restaurant on West Vernon Park Place. The business has remained in the DiBuono-Tufano family across generations, with Joey DiBuono running it since 1980. Its cash-only policy, chalkboard menus, and classic Italian-American cooking helped earn a James Beard Foundation America’s Classic honor in 2008.
Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono opened Tufano's Vernon Park Tap as a family barroom and restaurant in Chicago.
Source: James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016; Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page
Sam “the DA” DiBuono took over the restaurant and worked alongside his mother, Teresa Tufano DiBuono.
Source: Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page
Joe “Joey” DiBuono, grandson of the original owners, began running the restaurant.
Source: Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page; James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016
The James Beard Foundation honored Tufano's Vernon Park Tap as an America’s Classic.
Source: Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page; James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016
The James Beard Foundation documented the restaurant's same-family ownership since 1930, its chalkboard menus, cash-only policy, and Joey DiBuono's leadership.
Source: James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016
Current food coverage continued to describe Tufano's as family-run under Joe DiBuono and operating at its original 1073 W. Vernon Park Place address.
Source: Chowhound, “The Old-School Chicago Italian Restaurant Serving Family Recipes,” Apr. 16, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The James Beard Foundation and the restaurant's own history agree that Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono opened the family barroom and restaurant in 1930. The candidate's attribution to “Joseph Tufano Sr.” was incorrect.
The James Beard Foundation explicitly states that the restaurant has been owned and operated by the same family since Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono opened it in 1930. The business's later succession through Sam DiBuono and Joey DiBuono is also described in the restaurant's own history.
Tufano's own history lists a 2008 America’s Classic award, and the James Beard Foundation identifies the restaurant as an America’s Classic. The award belongs to the restaurant, not to an individual member of the DiBuono-Tufano family.
The restaurant's official history says Joe DiBuono began running Tufano's in 1980, and the James Beard Foundation identifies Joey DiBuono as the grandson of the original owners who runs the business. Current food coverage also describes it as family-run under Joe DiBuono.
The James Beard Foundation says Joey DiBuono has maintained Tufano’s chalkboard menus and cash-only policy, and a 2008 Chicago feature also described the restaurant as not taking credit cards. The sources support these as established traditions but do not prove the exact date either practice began.
The James Beard Foundation documents a broad clientele of businesspeople, police officers, families, and pregame sports fans, but this review did not locate reliable reporting that identifies specific celebrity, athlete, or political visits. Wall photographs and unnamed press coverage are not sufficient proof of a broad celebrity-regular claim.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap was founded in 1930 by Joseph Tufano Sr. and Teresa Tufano.
The restaurant was founded in 1930 by Joseph DiBuono and his wife, Teresa Tufano DiBuono. Joseph and Teresa were the grandparents of current operator Joey DiBuono.
Source: James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016; Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page
Tufano's received a personal James Beard Award for one of its owners.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap, the restaurant, received a James Beard Foundation America’s Classic honor in 2008. The reviewed sources do not establish a separate personal James Beard award for Joey DiBuono or another family member.
Source: Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page; James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016
Tufano's is a documented gathering place for a long list of celebrities, athletes, and politicians.
The restaurant has a broad, longstanding local clientele, but this review did not identify reliable evidence for specific celebrity, athlete, or politician visits. Such claims should not be made without names, dates, and sourceable visit evidence.
Source: James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016
The Tufano's building was built around 1920.
The restaurant’s same-address operation since 1930 is supported, but this review did not locate a Cook County assessor record, permit, architectural survey, or other reliable source establishing the building’s construction date.
Source: James Beard Foundation, “America’s Classics: Donnie Madia on Tufano’s Vernon Park Tap,” May 16, 2016; Tufano's Vernon Park Tap official history page
Tufano’s has survived through direct family stewardship and a deliberate refusal to chase short-lived dining trends. The restaurant remained on a residential side street through major change in Chicago’s Near West Side, keeping an intimate barroom-and-dining-room identity even as the surrounding community changed. Its appeal rests on a stable formula—family involvement, recognizable Italian-American food, cash-only service, and chalkboard menus—rather than an old-building claim that this review could not verify.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap opened in Chicago in 1930 when Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono established their family barroom and restaurant. Sam “the DA” DiBuono took over in 1971, and his son Joey DiBuono began running the restaurant in 1980. Tufano’s has remained in the same family, earned a James Beard Foundation America’s Classic honor in 2008, and continues to operate at 1073 West Vernon Park Place.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap is a long-running Chicago Italian-American restaurant that has been family-operated since 1930, but this review does not establish it as Chicago's oldest restaurant or oldest Italian restaurant. No citywide comparison of older restaurant, tavern, hotel-dining, or immigrant-family business lineages was conducted. Its verified distinction is unusually long continuous operation by the DiBuono-Tufano family, not a proven citywide oldest title.
Tufano's Vernon Park Tap remains in the DiBuono-Tufano family founded by Joseph DiBuono and Teresa Tufano DiBuono in 1930. The James Beard Foundation identifies Joey DiBuono, their grandson, as the person running the restaurant, and the restaurant’s own history says he has run it since 1980 with help from relatives including his daughter Darci and sister JoAnn. The current legal ownership entity and ownership shares are not established in this review.
Yes. Tufano's Vernon Park Tap received a James Beard Foundation America’s Classic honor in 2008. The distinction recognizes the restaurant itself for its enduring regional character and culinary tradition; it is not evidence that an individual owner personally won a separate James Beard Award.
1073 W Vernon Park Pl, Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 733-3393
Tufano’s is near UIC in Chicago’s Near West Side/Little Italy area. The James Beard Foundation and the restaurant’s own history identify cash-only service and chalkboard menus as traditions; call ahead to confirm hours, reservation policy, and payment options.