Tony Vallone: Houston's Legendary Restaurateur and Culinary Icon (1945–2020)
By: George Slaughter
Published: August 7, 2024
Updated: August 7, 2024
Anthony Vincent “Tony” Vallone, Jr., Houston restaurateur, was born on January 3, 1945, in Houston, Texas. He was the son of Anthony Vincent Vallone, Jr., a well-known restaurant owner in Houston, and Lena (Piranio) Vallone. The 1950 U.S. census listed Tony Jr. living with his parents and brother in Houston. His paternal grandmother, Maria Aiello Vallone, also lived in the household, and Vallone Jr. credited her in his upbringing and instilling in him a passion for Italian food and cooking when he was a child. He attended Marian High School in the Houston suburb of Bellaire and played on the football team. He graduated in 1963. On April 17, 1966, Tony Vallone married Leslie Ann Dours who had also attended Marian High School. They had two children but later divorced in 1980.
Carrying on in his family’s legacy, Vallone aspired to be a restaurateur and was trained by Parisian chef Edmond Foulard, who taught him that “sauces and soups are the souls of the kitchen.” During his life, Vallone owned and operated several different Houston-area restaurants, including Anthony’s, Caffé Bello, Ciao Bello, Grotto, La Griglia, Vallone’s, Los Tonyos, and Tony's Ballroom. Some of the restaurants have since been sold, and Vallone’s, a steakhouse, closed in 2018. For all his restaurants and community activities, Vallone was best-known for Tony’s, which he opened in 1965 on Sage Road in Houston. The restaurant, known for its Italian and seafood dishes, became known as the destination for elegant dining in the city. By the early 1970s, at the encouragement of developer Gerald Hines—then developing what became The Galleria—Vallone moved the restaurant near the Galleria on Post Oak Boulevard, where it remained for several decades. In 2005 Vallone relocated Tony’s to its present-day location at 3755 Richmond Avenue, in the Greenway Plaza area of Houston.
While Tony’s was popular for its fine food and meticulous service, the restaurant also became famous for the celebrities who came there, such as Sophia Loren, Luciano Pavarotti, Princess Grace of Monaco, Roger Moore, Mick Jagger, and many others. Vallone comped meals for Houston Chronicle society columnist Maxine Mesinger, who in turn touted the restaurant as a place to see and be seen. Eight U.S. presidents as well as numerous foreign dignitaries dined there. According to restaurant critic Patricia Sharpe, Vallone “never let his standards down. He opened other dining establishments over the years, but Tony’s was always the signature restaurant and remained consistently excellent….And Vallone remained a presence, never content to let the restaurant run itself.”
In 1982 Vallone was inducted into the National Restaurant Association Hall of Fame and was the first Texan to receive that honor. He was the first American to serve as a member of the board of Gruppo Ristoratori Italiani. He was also elected to the culinary “Who’s Who of Texas.” On February 12, 1984, Vallone married Donna Grace Aquilina. They had three children.
Vallone was active in the Houston community and served on the boards of Boys and Girls Country, Memorial Hermann Foundation, Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors, and the advisory board of the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston.
Tony Vallone died on September 10, 2020, in Houston. He was seventy-five. Vallone was buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery. His wife Donna took over managing the restaurant and vowed to proceed as if Vallone was still there.
Bibliography:
Donna and Tony Vallone, Tony’s Restaurant (https://www.tonyshouston.com/tony-vallone/), accessed July 20, 2024. Houston Chronicle, April 23, 1965; January 16, 2004; June 25, 2016; September 11, 13, 2020. Patricia Sharpe, “Tony Vallone, Houston’s Legendary Restaurateur, Died at 75,” Texas Monthly, September 10, 2020 (https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/tony-vallone-houston-restaurateur-dies-tonys/), accessed July 20, 2024.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
George Slaughter, “Vallone, Anthony Vincent, Jr. [Tony],” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/vallone-anthony-vincent-jr-tony.
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- August 7, 2024
- August 7, 2024
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