Warm bread and garlic spread are automatically placed on the table. Pizzas are tossed by hand in the kitchen. Clark Gable and Sean Connery gaze from photos in the bar. The place seems to remember a gentler era, and that's not a happy accident.

John D'Ambrosio is the head of a family-owned organization that runs three Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi's, two Georgio's and a Nicolino's. It takes a staff of up to 225 to do that. It also takes a philosophy of doing business that D'Ambrosio feels is important enough to commit to 3-by-5 cards for employees.

"The biggest danger in this business is complacency," he declares, referring to the importance of good food, service and maintenance. "Just to stay even, you have to be constantly changing." As a result, his employees are hired for their attitude. D'Ambrosio describes that as a person's "genuine willingness to serve and a sense of hospitality." He alludes to the difficulty of working with a younger generation not likely to have been reared in a home with two parents who might have demonstrated a kind of hospitality more common in an era when family entertainment was centered in the home. As a result, "You might get someone who greets guests with 'Hi, guys,' and leads them to a table while holding a cell phone to his ear." But if the employees have the right attitude, D'Ambrosio feels he can teach them what they need to know.

It takes five days to train and orient a new staff person. The results show in the practice of simple courtesies, starting with the manner in which a food server greets a customer or offers a chair, down to how the dishwasher properly operates the machine for cleanliness and avoids water spills for safety. "There also have to be consequences at the end," he adds. "If they don't cut the bait, they move on."

The ones who stay seem enthused about what they serve. It's southern Italian fare, the kind of hearty traditional dishes that used to be served at a majority of local Italian restaurants before public travel, culinary schools and cooking shows brought a northern influence—dishes like lamb osso bucco, chicken parmigiana and fettuccine prawns Portofino. "It's not pasta with mandarin oranges, goat cheese, walnuts and raspberries," D'Ambrosio states emphatically. "That's not Italian!"

A new addition to the menu is the chicken rolatini. Boneless chicken breast is rolled with prosciutto and smoked provalone, then breaded, baked and topped with Madeira wine sauce with butter, fresh mushrooms, sage, lemon and shallots. It's served with garlic mashed potatoes, fresh brocoli aglio olio and bread and butter for $12.50.

D'Ambrosio's passion for his business started with his Italian roots—parents who started with a fruit stand and by 1951 had started a sausage company. They eventually opened a restaurant, where he, the youngest of four boys, began washing dishes at 8. By 11, he was waiting tables. At 17, he and his brothers bought the first Giorgio's Pizza House on Foxworthy in San Jose.

Frankie, Johnnie & Luigi Too!, at 5245 Prospect Road (Westgate) in San Jose, is open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.­10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.­11 p.m. Call 408.446.9644 for food-to-go orders.