Ooh La La lauded by all

LAKESIDE — It's not what they envisioned when they opened Ooh La La, but the Savonas are hitting a milestone for the 2025 season. Mike and Patti Savona, along with their daughter, Michaela, are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their popular restaurant, a few years more than they anticipated. "When we opened, every other person who came in said, 'If you last five years, you're doing well,'" Patti said. Ooh La La quickly became one of Lakeside's most frequented spots by offering excellent customer service and healthy breakfast and lunch items, such as salads and sandwiches. It's the only place in Lakeside that offers quiche. Their cookies and pastries are sweet ways to top off a meal. "I think the food is good," Patti said. "If people try it and are happy about how they got served, they'll come back." For the first 17 years, Ooh La La was located at 220 W. Second St. They were set up the past two years in the former Slack House at 236 Walnut Ave. where their popularity hit its peak. "Last year, we served over 20,000 meals," Mike said. "It definitely grew, but I think it was because of the larger space." The Savonas still occupied the Second Street store, but only served gelato in the renamed La Dolce Galleria. This year, Ooh La La returns to its previous location, and the La Dolce Galleria name will no longer be used. "I think the smaller place is our personality," Mike said. "It's who we are." Ooh La La has had some famous customers over the years: • Peter Noone & Herman's Hermits took a picture outside. • CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman always stops in during his annual Lakeside vacation • Tony Danza mentioned it during his show. Mike recalled a funny story the morning after pianist and Lakeside favorite Michael Cavanaugh performed last year. "We went to his show, and we loved it," Mike said. "One of the musicians came in and I said, 'Hey, you guys were awesome last night.' A guy at the coffee bar turned around, and he had his baseball cap on backwards, and said, 'I'm in the band, too.' I go, 'So what do you play? He goes, 'I'm the piano player.' A lot of people who perform in Hoover are trying to fly under the radar, so it's interesting to meet some of them." Mike and Patti are former educators who had never run a business until they started Ooh La La. Mike said Lakeside was the perfect place to open a restaurant. "From my perspective, it's just cool to have a shop in a place like Lakeside," Mike said. "We entered it having no business sense at all. We're first to admit that if we had opened anywhere else, we probably wouldn't have made it, but being a destination was huge. I can remember when we would stand at the counter, and as people walk by, it's like, 'I think they're going to come in.'" Ooh La La will remain open this season through the Lakeside-Marblehead Lighthouse Festival in October. Regular hours will be split, from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5:30-9 p.m. If you're craving gelato after a Hoover show, they plan to stay open later on those nights. Hours will vary in September and October. The Savonas haven't set a timetable for how much longer they want to continue running Ooh La La. They will continue taking it on a year-by-year basis. "Fortunately, Lakeside has been good about our plans," Mike said. "It's good just to have something to do and stay busy. Lakeside is a very unique, wonderful place. You maintain your mission and your identity as best you can." Patti added: "I think we fill a need. There's a need for good food, we're fast and we have healthy options." Michaela added, "You have to love what you do, and here, I think it's a little easier to love, because you get that community aspect that you're serving a lot of the same people or connected people."