For Darrin and Michelle Del Conte, supporting Torrance Memorial is a family affair that harks

back to cherished memories of Del Conte’s Restaurant.

Written by Diane Krieger  |  Photographed by Micheal Neveux

Attention, Torrance Memorial anesthesiologists! One lucky doc can lay claim to an authentic jar of Del Conte’s Restaurant’s famous garlic cheese spread. That’s pretty remarkable, considering the beloved Torrance establishment closed its doors in 1999.

But foodies with long memories still crave the killer garlic toast topper served by owner Gerry Del Conte. And one of those foodies happened to attend the birth of baby Serena Sasso, Gerry’s great-granddaughter. 

The Del Conte garlic cheese spread recipe is a closely guarded secret. When Gerry passed away in 2012, he bequeathed it to his son, Darrin. “We keep it under lock and key,” he says.

Many have tried to reverse-engineer it, and a few have claimed success on social media. The Daily Breeze published a contender in 2017, but Darrin’s wife, Michelle, says emphatically: “Nope, that’s not it.”

Fast-forward to 2022, when the Del Contes’ daughter Andrea Sasso was in labor at Torrance Memorial Medical Center with her first baby. The attending anesthesiologist noticed her maiden name and inquired if she was related to Gerry Del Conte.

“That was my grandfather,” Andrea replied, between contractions. The anesthesiologist proceeded to rave about the amazing cheese spread at Del Conte’s, and Andrea offered him a jar from her mom’s next batch. But in the chaos and excitement of delivery, she didn’t write down his name.

That was three years ago, and “I’m embarrassed to say we never followed through,” Michelle says. Mystery anesthesiologist, there’s your cue to step forward!

Michelle whips up a batch of Del Conte’s famous cheese spread every year around the holidays—enough to share with family and special friends. The holidays are coming soon!

FAMILY TIES

The Del Conte family’s ties to Torrance Memorial reach back three generations.

“When my brother, Chris and I were kids,” says Darrin, “that was the hospital mom would take us to when we got hurt.”

“Darrin and I delivered our babies there,” Michelle adds, referring to the births of Andrea, now 32, and Allison, 31. The latest family member to come through Torrance Memorial is Andrea’s second daughter, baby Scarlett, born in July.

Michelle and Darrin, along with Andrea and her husband Marc Sasso, are all Torrance Memorial Patrons. So are many of their childhood friends.

The Del Contes started supporting Torrance Memorial with a 2003 gift to the West Tower campaign. They’ve continued gifting, most recently in their support of the emergency department campaign.

Michelle’s sister and brother-in-law, Laura and Joe Gregorio, are also Patrons and longtime supporters of Torrance Memorial. They credit the Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular Institute with saving Joe’s life after surgeons performed an emergency coronary artery bypass graft in 2018.

Joe Gregorio isn’t just Darrin’s brother-in-law. They have been close friends for over 40 years. Darrin has worked for Joe at Pacific Crane Maintenance Company for more than three decades. Joe is the founder and CEO of the Long Beach maritime business, which employs nearly 1,000 longshoremen responsible for moving cargo across the West Coast. Darrin is chief commercial officer, overseeing corporate, customer and labor relations.

FLYING HIGH

For 30 years Del Conte’s Restaurant was a treasured part of the Torrance social scene. It hosted wedding receptions, surprise parties and milestone anniversaries. The dimly lit steakhouse had a comfortable, old-fashioned atmosphere with dark wooden tables and vinyl booths. Its horseshoe-shaped bar attracted a regular crowd of barflies and businesspeople.

At its peak, the restaurant—known for huge steaks, lobster tails and king crabs, as well as the amazing garlic cheese bread and green goddess salad—served 500 dinners a night. A car dealership now sits on the former site at 2900 Pacific Coast Highway. Gerry and Sandy Del Conte opened their eponymous restaurant in 1969 and operated it until their retirement in 1999. It was an all-consuming enterprise.

“Dad worked seven days a week. He spent many, many, hours down there. But he also had fun. He loved to fly. He had a pilot’s license and a plane across the street at Zamperini Field. Throughout the week, he would take an hour here, an hour there, and go up and fly,” recalls Darrin who was a frequent passenger.

Despite the many hours at the restaurant, Gerry always found time to attend any of his sons’ school and athletic events with pride. Father and sons would also play golf together. For many years, they had a standing Saturday game until Gerry was no longer able to play.

Yet Darrin was never tempted to take over the family business. “Dad worked too hard,” he says. Instead, he went into the maritime trade.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Michelle, Darrin’s wife of 35 years, comes from a long line of Croatian American fishermen and longshoremen (the Trutanich family). She spent her early years in San Pedro, and when she was age 11, her family moved to Rancho Palos Verdes. Michelle met Darrin during her freshman year at Miraleste High School.

He finished his bachelor’s degree in economics as a commuter student at UC Irvine while Michelle studied business administration at Loyola Marymount University. They dated for five years before tying the knot.

After college, Darrin briefly worked for a real estate developer. He switched to the Korean shipping company Hanjin before beginning his career with Pacific Crane Maintenance Company.

Michelle got her real estate license but quickly realized she wanted to stay home to raise her daughters. She continues to use her license occasionally, helping friends and family. As the girls grew older, Darrin made time to coach their sports teams, and Michelle threw herself into school-related volunteer and charity work.

Allison Carey now lives in Northern California with her husband, Clay, and their sons, Cormac, 2, and Reese, 9 months. She is a Bay Area-based clinical psychologist, and Clay is the co-founder of a virtual financial services start-up for small businesses.

Andrea was an associate regional director for a New York-based art appraisal and advisory firm before stepping back to raise her children. Like her parents, she and Marc started as high school sweethearts. Marc is now a finance director at a distribution company in Torrance. They live in Rancho Palos Verdes with daughters Serena, 3, and baby Scarlett.

At 59, Darrin works almost as many hours as his father once did. It turns out the maritime industry is nearly as all-consuming as running a restaurant.

 “It’s a 24/7 industry,” Darrin says. “Except for the five days of the year when the harbors shut down, we’re never off.”

To decompress, he and Michelle retreat to their happy place: Hawaii. “We play cards and cribbage, drink mai tais and take naps. It’s the best,” Michelle says.

An impediment to such travel is Teddy, their beloved pit-lab-rottweiler mix. The pup they rescued almost 10 years ago has become a “huge” part of their life. (Darrin calls him “a big beast,” as Teddy weighs 112 pounds.) Only trouble is, “Teddy hates it when he sees the suitcases come out,” Michelle says.

Closer to home, the Del Contes enjoy unwinding with a weekend round of golf, pickleball with high school friends, and family dinners with the kids and grandbabies. Darrin is a two-term past president of Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, and Michelle has played Marine League tennis at the Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates for over 25 years.

There are no equestrians in the Del Conte family, but for many years Michelle has devoted herself to the Peninsula Committee Children’s Hospital (PCCH), which organizes the Portuguese Bend National Horse Show, a three-day, all- volunteer run event every September. Since its inception in 1957, PCCH has raised over $21 million for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles through the horse show and other fundraising events.

“This is my 17th show,” Michelle says. In 2024, she served as chair, which she found to be very rewarding. It’s an all-hands-on-deck weekend for PCCH families, but Darrin admits, “The women do all the real work. Everyone is jumping in for the right cause.”

“I’m very grateful to have had two healthy children,” says Michelle, so PCCH is one way of giving back.”

Darrin feels the same way about supporting Torrance Memorial. “We’re giving back to the hospital where we had our babies and where one of our daughters had her babies,” he says. “It feels good to know we’re helping Torrance Memorial advance and do good things for our community.”

PRESERVING THE PAST

Michelle and Darrin are thinking more about things like preserving legacy and building out the future. In early October they traveled to Southern Italy to uncover lost Del Conte roots.

While in Corato, Darrin enlisted the aid of a local tour guide, who researched and shared information on his ancestors. Darrin was very close to his paternal grandparents, Frank and Angelina (Lena). Lena immigrated from Corato as a girl, and Frank’s parents and oldest brother also immigrated from Corato.

Michelle and Darrin aren’t alone in wanting to preserve the Del Conte legacy. A quarter-century later, fans continue to post nostalgic photos and appreciations of Del Conte’s Restaurant in online communities.

“People still ask about the Garlic Cheese Bread and the green goddess dressing,” Darrin says. “We get requests all the time.”

Alas, the green goddess recipe is lost. But for Andrea’s mystery anesthesiologist, the cheese spread is his for the asking.