Legendary restaurateur Sirio Maccioni has died at the age of 88.
The Le Cirque founder passed away in his hometown in Tuscany, Italy.
His son Mauro Maccioni confirmed the news saying, “My father had been fading for a while, he passed from natural causes last night at his birth town of Montecatini [Terme] in Tuscany surrounded by family and everyone from the town who loved him.”
He added, “We fully intend to continue his legacy with the restaurant.”
Sirio worked at the Colony Club as a maître d’hôtel in the late 1960s, then in 1974, opened what would become a New York landmark, Le Cirque at the Mayfair Hotel. The restaurant moved to the New York Palace in 1997, and in 2006 it opened in a new space at the Bloomberg Building on East 58th Street.
Le Cirque was “the city’s premier showplace for the era’s excess and glamour” during the ’80s. Ronald Reagan, Donald Trump, with wives Ivana and Marla Maples, and Barbara Walters were regulars.
Frank Sinatra gave his review of each meal by being handed a sheet of paper at the end and writing “yes” or “no” as to whether he approved of his meal.
Le Cirque launched the careers of top chefs including Daniel Boulud, David Bouley and Jacques Torres, acting as a power hub during its more than 40-year run.
The Gotham Reporter 