Troy to name stretch for chef
Loporto Way to honor restaurateur who died this year
Chef Michael Loporto was known for holding court outside his Fourth Street restaurant Loporto Ristorante Caffe before he died at Albany Medical Center Hospital on Feb. 24.
The city will honor Loporto, who also was a former councilman as well as a popular figure across the community, by renaming the section of Fourth Street between Broadway and State Street where his restaurant stands at 85 Fourth St.
The one-block stretch will be dedicated as “Loporto Way,” Mayor Patrick Madden announced Monday.
“For those who knew him, Michael was a constant presence outside his restaurant on Fourth Street, engaging with customers, friends, and acquaintances passing by Loporto Ristorante Caffe merged his passions: food and family, and he shared them with countless Trojans and customers from around the world during the last three decades,” Madden said.
The family’s Italian restaurant was known to everyone by its founder’s name — Loporto’s. Loporto was an immigrant from Italy, coming to the U.S and Troy in 1970 from Sicily.
The City Council resolution for the street dedication will be sponsored by Councilwomen Susan Steele, D -3rd District, and Emily Menn, D -4th District.
“My father would have been overjoyed and honored with this dedication. Fourth Street is home to one of his greatest accomplishments, Loporto’s Ristorante Caffe, both his and the city’s first fivestar restaurant which attracted many to the city during the 90s when Troy was not the popular destination it is today,” said his daughter Francesca Loporto-brandow.
“I have many memories of my father as an involved community member for the city. He always cared and advocated for Fourth Street businesses and neighbors, and his block always represented a piece of his heart. I look forward to it becoming part of his legacy,” she said.