Engine Co 2018 Holiday Party

Gallo Restaurant

3 E Main St, Patchogue, NY 11772

Gallo’s Restaurant’s beginnings were very humble. It started out with seven tables, which soon wasn’t enough to satisfy the amount of business that was coming in. They expanded to the next building, and began renting the location for events such as birthdays, communions, and baptisms. Saving up little by little, they were eventually able to renovate the upstairs portion, which is used today to host three to four events per week, including meetings, fundraisers, and weddings. This in turn has yielded revenue, which they have been able to invest back into the business.

In a testament to the family’s pioneering spirit, a simple walk down Main Street reveals the Bustamantes’ influence. Gallo Restaurant was the first restaurant to have French doors installed, which was soon replicated by other restaurants, and which now make the Village of Patchogue one of the most attractive Main Streets on Long Island. 

Where does he Bustamante’s passion and entrepreneurialism come from? David Bustamante looked over the beautifully painted portrait of his great-great grandfather. “My grandfather has longer sideburns than I’ve ever been able to grow,” he joked during a speech at the Welcoming dinner.

He described his great-great grandfather’s legacy: Vicente Bustamante, a colonel in Columbia who served under Simon Bolivar’s army, had fought to liberate Colombia from Venezuela and Spanish rule. Part of that pride, David said, is knowing that at the same time George Washington was leading the American colonies against the British Empire. 

Their great-great grandfather’s legacy in Colombia serves as inspiration towards the family’s ambition to continue innovating and pushing creative boundaries in the Village of Patchogue, beyond the restaurant sector. David noted that Main Street in Patchogue serves as an example for other Main Streets on Long Island to follow in using their social and cultural capital to create economic prosperity. 

“Our success at the Gallo Restaurant wasn’t achieved by only working with the immigrant population, or with the U.S- born,” he said. “It was working with everyone.”

David and Carolina believe in leading by example. They aim to treat their employees like family, providing them with guidance, and encouraging them to take full advantage of what the Village of Patchogue has to offer. For their Latino employees, they encourage them to integrate within the community by taking English-language courses, and to become familiar with leaders in the community. It is through this leadership that they have become revered figures by both the immigrant population and the rest of the Village of Patchogue, as leaders in their own right.