A TRIBUTE TO AMEDEO

1936-2021

Amedeo’s Italian Restaurant was built on the virtues of love and family when Amedeo “Dick” DeAngelis and his forever sweetheart, Elizabeth Jane “Betty” DeAngelis opened the doors in 1963— these two virtues surrounded Dick when he peacefully passed on October 20th, 2021.

Whether it was a bus boy or the best-known NC State figure in Raleigh, Dick treated everyone who walked through the front doors of the restaurant with respect. His ability to touch the lives of people, from the Amedeo’s regulars to his grandchildren, was immense. His warm spirit welcomed all people into his life, and his ability to crack a joke with anyone who was willing to listen made people feel connected to him.


The restaurant was a place where people could gather over their love of Italian food, N.C. State football (the team Dick won an ACC championship with in 1957) and good company. Regular fixtures at the restaurant included Jim Valvano, Earle Edwards, Chuck Amato, Bob Guzzo, Sam Esposito, and George Tarantini who’d walk through the front doors hoping for a good bite to eat, but mostly, so they could enjoy the presence of their good friend Dick. Dick was the essence of Amedeo’s, beyond the obvious name—regulars come for the family feel.


Anyone walking through the restaurant can see the strong influence Amedeo had on building the character of the restaurant, which is interwoven through the menu filled with family-recipes and the memorabilia scattered throughout the restaurant.

PROCLAMATION

In recognition of 6 decades of service to the community we were awarded a proclamation from the City of Raleigh. 8/27/23 was named “Amedeo’s Day”!


Amedeo R. Deangelis was awarded “The Order of the Long Leaf Pine” by Governor Robert W. Scott in 1963, the year the restaurant opened.

Tradition like no other

NOTABLE GUESTS

See a list of some of our VIP guests over the years!

READ MORE

REVITALIZATION

Just over 10 years ago, owner David Harris purchased Amedeo's. David was able to use his many years in the restaurant industry to revitalize menus and kitchen operations and more than doubled sales over the years. Today, Amedeo's Italian Restaurant is a booming Italian spot known for its traditional Italian menu, great food and awesome service. Majority owners David and his wife Virginia own the restaurant along with Rodney Byrd and Amedeo's daughter Jill and her husband Dave Parker.

CELEBRATING

60 YEARS

(Video courtesy of WRAL News)

THE UNOFFICIAL "NC STATE MUSEUM"

A Note From Dave Parker, "The Museum Curator"


"Being the son of two UNC graduates, I frequented The Rathskeller (The Rat) on Franklin Street many times.  I always thought the UNC sports memorabilia in the small bar was pretty cool.  Later on, as a student at State in the early/mid 1980s, I loved the NCSU sports memorabilia at Brothers Pizza.   


I didn't go to Amedeo's until my Senior year in 1986 and was immediately drawn to the NCSU sports memorabilia.  However, the walls were covered mostly with pictures of movie stars, scenes of Italy, and posters of pasta.  It was in 1987 that I met Amedeo's daughter (Jill) who waited on me and my friends.  I finally caught her eye when I started coming to Amedeo's wearing a banker's suit and driving up in a new car.  We married in 1989.  


As a student at State, I had collected boxes of newspaper/magazine articles and pictures from the 1983 national championship but I never did anything with it until Jim Valvano died in 1993.  I decided to create 2 large collages and I hung them on the wall at Amedeo's.  Customers seemed to enjoy them.  From there, I remembered how much I enjoyed the sports memorabilia at The Rat and Brothers Pizza so I decided to take it to another level at Amedeo's.  I also thought of it as being a good way to offset all the free food I had eaten there since I met Jill.  It wasn't long until I met Bruce Winkworth and Frank Weedon, both of whom worked in NCSU sports information.  They were instrumental in providing me access to their sports photography and artifacts.  It took several years, but I finally "finished" by 1999.  Since then, it's been mostly keeping everything current with new outstanding NCSU athletes and coaches.  For me, it's definitely been a labor of love."

IN THE NEWS

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