Brookside Inn

Gary Morgatto is the owner and chef. His parents, Charles and Lucy Morgatto bought the restaurant in 1954 when Gary was 7 years old and his brother Tommy was 9 years old.
Once the business was purchased, the family moved from Waterbury to Oxford and lived in the apartment above the restaurant. Lucy cooked and waited on tables and Charles tended barand acted as bookkeeper. Once Gary and Tommy were of age, they, too, began working in the restaurant. Lucy continued to work in the restaurant until the age of 79 in 2003. Charles continued to work in the restaurant as the bookkeeper until the age of 91 in 2006. Tommy had also worked most of his life in the restaurant.
Gary married Sara Festa in 1976. Their son Justin and their daughter Christin have worked in the restaurant throughout their lives, but each of them earned college degrees and pursued other careers, too. Justin is a sales representative for a local wine and spirits distributor and Christin is an English teacher for a local high school. Sara works part-time in the restaurant and is employed as a school psychologist in a nearby school district.