Restaurant owner’s memorial attracts food workers and Utah leaders

Salt Lake City’s food community, along with a few dignitaries, said their goodbyes Thursday to restaurateur Valter Nassi, at a “celebration of life” mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Nassi, who ran his namesake restaurant Valter’s Osteria for a decade and brought fine Italian dining to Utah at other restaurants before that, died Sept. 21, at age 76.

Bishop Oscar Solis, who leads the Roman Catholic Church’s Salt Lake City diocese, officiated the mass for a few hundred attendees. The event featured music from the Cathedral of the Madeleine Choir School.

Solis opened his homily by referring to Nassi as the “honorary mayor of Salt Lake City, pillar of downtown, an Utah icon.” Solis then added another title: “A child of God.”

The bishop recalled that when he first met Nassi, the restaurateur was surprised that Solis didn’t have anyone to cook for him — so he invited Solis to eat at Valter’s Osteria every night. Solis joked that he declined, politely, and told Nassi that he wouldn’t be able to afford it.

“His table was always a place of heart and kindness,” Solis said.

Nassi would live forever, even if he wasn’t here with his family and friends any more, Solis said — adding that he could picture Nassi in the cathedral, wearing one of his colorful suits.

Solis also shared that Nassi had gone through chemotherapy — previously, the family had not shared the cause of Nassi’s death — and that the bishop was with him the night before he died. Nassi fell asleep praying, Solis said, holding a crucifix with both hands.

“I knew then that Valter’s wishes had been fulfilled,” Solis said. “He found peace.”

Entering the cathedral, people encountered two tables set up with small candles and programs, one of them with photos of Nassi. One photo showed him in a chef’s apron, and the caption below read “Ti Voglio Bene” — a phrase that is literally translated, “I want you to be well.”

Nassi’s widow, Phyllis Pettit Nassi, hugged people and wiped tears as she led them to their seats. Their son, Enrico Nassi, greeted people at the cathedral door.

Many of those seated in the packed pews wore chef’s coats and other uniforms of the restaurant trade. The staff at Valter’s Osteria were seated at the front.

Among the notable attendees were former Congressman Ben McAdams and Zions Bank President/CEO Scott Anderson, who quoted Nassi from a 2010 Salt Lake Tribune interview, recalling when he saw missionaries returning to families and friends at the Salt Lake City airport: “I have lived in every part of the world and never found something so welcoming like that,” Nassi said. “I’m in love with this beautiful city.”

Also in attendance was Lisa Barlow, owner of Vida Tequila and one of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.” Nassi opened the doors of his restaurant to the reality show in 2020, for a lavish luncheon that devolved into a shouting match. Nassi’s stone-faced reaction became the basis for the “Valter is upset” meme, a joke that was the opposite of his happy, welcoming personality.

Valter’s reputation had grown past Salt Lake City long before that. Since his death in September, many people in Utah and beyond have praised Nassi’s food and hospitality. Among them was San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, reflecting the popularity of Valter’s Osteria among NBA teams when they came to play the Utah Jazz.

Gov. Spencer Cox spoke at the celebration, noting that when he grew up in rural Utah, dinner was usually hamburger meat. “I didn’t know there was a culinary experience out there,” he said.

Going to Valter’s, Cox said, was monumental. “I discovered that food could be art, that food could change your life, that food could be an experience,” the governor said. “And then I discovered someone who was even bigger than his food: Valter.”

Cox said that, as Utah’s governor, many people want to talk to him about the Jazz or Delicate Arch or skiing or Sundance or Zion National Park. But once, surprisingly, Cox was in Dubai and someone mentioned Nassi and his cooking.

“Somewhere, God is having an amazing meal right now,” Cox said. “Although he’s in heaven and we are here, I will be forever grateful that [Nassi] gave us a piece of heaven here in Utah. Valter, on behalf of 3.3 million people that call this place home: Thank you for making Utah a better place.”

Victor Lund, former CEO of American Stores and the person who hired Nassi to first run a restaurant in Salt Lake City, teared up when he spoke at the service. He called Nassi his “adopted brother.”

Lund’s son, Jeramy, who was Nassi’s business partner at Valter’s Osteria, said, “Valter came to Salt Lake with a vision to change this city for the better, not just food, but experience. ... He accomplished that, not just through his food but through his spirit and hospitality.”

It was the words of Nassi’s son, Enrico, that rang the loudest in the cathedral, as he thanked everyone for coming to remember the “flame and joy” that his father was.

“My father was an individual who very much believed in the value of community,” Enrico said. Since his father’s death, he said, he has gathered wisdom from the “elegance and simplicity” through which Valter assembled that community over the years.

“To have known my father was to be taken in,” Enrico said, and that anyone who knew him, no matter how long, had the experience of knowing they were “being seen.”

Enrico’s closing words were simple: “I love you, Dad.”