La Strada Ristorante Italiano in San Pablo first opened in 1996 and will celebrate 28 years in business in 2024. In October 2022, La Strada was honored by the San Pablo Economic Development Corporation Small Business of the Year! [https://lastradasanpablo.com/about-us] 

This area was rebuilt in the mid 1970s, and a new restaurant soon stood at this corner with Adobe Liquors next door. Vasilios Pappas, owner and namesake of VP's, opened his new restaurant on this corner in 1969. VP's became a popular place for many city and civic organizations to come and enjoy good dining while conducting meetings and organizing events. It was the place to go after church on Sunday, as it was close by, and there was always a full house at VP's. After Mr. Pappas passed away, the restaurant stood vacant for several years.

In 1996, two friends, Adriano Munoz and Martino Gonzalez who had become acquainted through their work in higher-end Italian restaurants like Il Fornaio and La Felce in North Beach, San Francisco, happened to be in the area one day, and as they drove by, noticed the vacant restaurant. Remembering their long-time dream of owning their own restaurant, they had to check it out. They leased the San Pablo space and things fell into place fast.  Any initial hesitation quickly resolved into focus, hard work, determination and a genuine love of serving others exceptional Italian food in a friendly family atmosphere. They named their new restaurant La Strada (Italian for “the road”) and opened in 1996. Though La Strada started out as a dream among friends, it evolved into a family business when Martino and Adriano became brothers-in-law. Their American Canyon location opened six years later. Each year in the month of July, La Strada celebrates their opening by rolling back prices on select menu items to 1996 prices. This year (2023), they celebrated their 27th year in San Pablo.

In The Beginning...

Some history on the Northeast corner of San Pablo Avenue at Church Lane.