Ricky Marcellini (with wife, Caroline, and daughter, Nina) opened the Little Chalet in Boca Raton as an extension of the family business in Brazil. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley
If you were a bride in the 1980s, chances are your shower or wedding gifts included a fondue set. But in recent years, people seem to have forgotten the fun and flavor of this interactive dining experience.
Not Ricky Marcellini. His family owns fondue restaurants in Belo Horizonte and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and recently opened the Little Chalet in Boca Raton.
“We’ve invested in the fondue concept in Boca because it’s great. People get to share their meal and talk, not just eat and hurry off,” says Marcellini, who is pleased that some guests stay at their tables for three hours enjoying the fondue, music and friends.
Choosing this location that was once a seafood restaurant, a nightclub and then a Thai restaurant, Marcellini said he spent $2 million to redo the building inside and out. Today the Little Chalet is all Old World charm from its outdoor tower and brickwork to its indoor warren of cozy alcoves, fireplace and, yes, live piano music.
Marcellini, 36, got into the restaurant and nightclub business at age 17 in Brazil, where his father owned restaurants and nightclubs. Although Marcellini dreamed of coming to America to study, his father offered him a place in the family’s entertainment empire and he accepted.
Over the years he did everything from waiting tables to food marketing, to directing the food and beverage service, to managing the family’s restaurants and clubs. But he never lost his dream.
About four years ago he decided to bring the Little Chalet to the United States, so he began making trips north every two months — visiting New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Miami.
He decided to expand into South Florida because of its proximity to Brazil, where he still runs his family’s businesses. But after looking at Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, he wanted a smaller town so he chose Boca Raton.
“I found this city to be a good match for our style of food and hospitality,” he says. He has plans for further expansion into Palm Beach Gardens and perhaps Orlando.
The restaurant is known for its quatro formaggi fondue, a robust blend of emmental, Grand Cru, Parmesan and blue cheeses. If you prefer meat, there’s beef, chicken, pork or filet mignon that you can dip into the restaurant’s signature consommé or its vegetable broth. For dessert, don’t miss the Lindt chocolate fondues created by Marcellini himself.
“You don’t see other restaurants like ours here,” Marcellini says. “It’s different because it’s not just food, it’s an experience.”
The Little Chalet, 485 S. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 325-8000; www.thelittlechalet.com.
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