DeFelice Family of Pascal’s Manale honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

The Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) is pleased to announce that the DeFelice Family, owners of the famed Pascal’s Manale, received the LRA Greater New Orleans Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award, in a ceremony January 15 at the Hilton St. Charles. The family, father Savare DeFelice, and siblings Sandy, Bob, Mark and Ginny, are currently the fourth generation of owners.

The DeFelice Family of Pascal's Manale Restaurant receives
the LRA GNO Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award,
Jan. 15 at the Hilton St. Charles.

“It is such a great honor for our family and we were all pleasantly surprised,” said Mark DeFelice. “My mother, Virginia, was the matriarch of the Manale’s family and we really wish she could have lived to share in that incredible moment in the history of our family.”  

In 2013, the family celebrated the restaurant’s 100-year anniversary and banners commemorating the milestone lined Napoleon Avenue in the quiet New Orleans Uptown neighborhood where it resides. The famed New Orleans signature BBQ Shrimp dish was born in the kitchens of Pascal’s Manale, which in 1913 was a corner grocery store.  The raw oyster bar has been a mainstay since the day Frank Manale bought the corner grocery and opened it as Manale’s Restaurant.

“We are honored to recognize the DeFelice family with a Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Paul Rotner, 2013 LRA GNO Chapter Chair and COO of Acme Oyster House. “It’s because of their passion for honoring their family’s traditions, pride in their heritage, and their world renowned BBQ Shrimp dish, they have made Pascal’s Manale a beloved New Orleans legacy.”

The family has also committed an extraordinary amount of volunteer service to the community, charitable organizations and the LRA. Mark DeFelice serves on the LRA State Board of Directors as an active Past Chairman (2003), and continues to provide valuable operator insight necessary to improve the business climate for all Louisiana restaurants.

“The story of the DeFelice family is one that exemplifies the true entrepreneurial spirit that exists in the restaurant industry,” said Stan Harris, LRA President/CEO. “The rich history and traditions found at Pascal’s Manale Restaurant have contributed to the authenticity and notoriety of New Orleans and our great state.”

Mark DeFelice’s daughter Rachel recently enrolled in the John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University to pursue her culinary degree. She has aspirations of dedicating her career to the family business.