Best Lasagna in Greater Cleveland: ‘Family’ is the secret ingredient in Guido’s award-winning food

RAVENNA, Ohio — Marianne Cipriano arrives at Guido’s every morning at 4 a.m. to start assembling the average 14 batches of lasagna that will be served in the family restaurant each day. On Mondays, her arrival is even earlier.

That work ethic is a family tradition.

In 1966, Cipriano’s father, Guido, was working three jobs to support his 10 children. That’s when his brother — owner of Augie’s Pizza on Green Road in Cleveland — suggested he open his own pizza shop, so he could spend more time at home with the family.

Today, Guido’s is a tiny family-run restaurant and pizza shop located at 214 W. Main St., in Ravenna in Portage County. The eatery drew more than a third of the nearly 6,000 votes cast by readers in cleveland.com’s search for the Best Lasagna in Greater Cleveland during July’s National Lasagna Awareness Month.

Saturday, July 29, is National Lasagna Day.

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“Family is the engine that keeps this place humming,” said Sam Cipriano, Guido’s son and the current owner. His three daughters and a cousin manage the day-to-day operations. Of the current staff of 50, 15 of them are immediate family members.

Guido’s serves 50-60 lasagna dinners a day — as well as pizzas– using the same sauce recipes used by “Great Aunt Frances 45 years ago. It goes so far back in the family history we don’t even know who first created it, but we still make the sauce the same way we did in 1966,” Marianne said, with a laugh.

Guido’s opened almost six decades ago, less than two blocks from its current location. It moved to its current space in 1989.

The layered pans of lasagna are hand assembled each morning using fresh meats that are cooked and crumbled, then blended with a ricotta cheese mixture that is made in-house. Meatballs for other pasta dishes are hand-rolled once the lasagna is assembled.

The sauces for both the pasta and pizza are slow-simmered seven days a week in a 60-gallon kettle. Once a sauce is “just right,” it is set aside to cool and is stored for use the following day. One batch of each will only be enough for one day’s orders.

“The lasagna was always good, but when Marianne came in and started over-seeing making it, it is spectacular. She wants it to be perfect and she is always here to be certain everything is done just so,” Sam Cipriano explained.

“But, we are still best known for our pizza.”

The shop puts out 300-plus pizzas each week.

Food orders are cooked in three kitchen “areas:” one for pasta dishes — or anything else that is not pizza or chicken — with separate areas dedicated to pizza orders, and a third for fried chicken dishes.

“With hundreds and hundreds of orders every week, we need the three areas to be able to focus on their specialties to make certain that they are up to the standards we have for ourselves, not to mention what our customers expect of us,” said Scott Hutchinson, a nephew, and one of the current managers of Guido’s.

Tables at Guido’s fill up fast every night. The dining room and patio combined seat only 75 diners. The family is currently working on a deal that would expand the space to each side of their current footprint.

Reservations for parties of 6 or more are encouraged. Take-out and catering orders are available.

“Yes, we have thought about expanding to another location, but – for many reasons — chose not to. It’s not about making more money,” said Scott. “We just don’t want someone else out there watering down what we have done since 1966. It is tough enough to watch over how things are being done here, I can’t imagine how folks with multiple locations do it. We will just stay where we are and continue to put out the best food we can.”

“My wife and I go to other restaurants, and they always seem to change their menus. They said they have to keep up with what the customers want,” said Sam. “I say, ‘Just stick to what you do best, and I believe you will be fine.’ We don’t have a big place or a big crew, but we have a good one that works hard just trying every day to be the best we can be. For me, that — in itself — is a really, really big deal.”

“We are so fortunate to have so much customer support, given that we are located in such a small town,” Scott said. “We have had a lot of people travel from all over Northeast Ohio just to try our food. To have them say their experience was ‘spectacular,’ or ‘worth the drive’ means everything to us.”