It’s been six months since Attillo Langella got the call about a deadly shooting in his restaurant and not a day goes by that he doesn’t stop to think about it.
On the evening of April 21, 22-year-old Joe Cabigon was shot at Overtime Sports Bar & Grill, across from Pioneer Manor. Cabigon later died in hospital and one suspect remains at-large.
“I was vacationing in Mexico at the time. It was my first getaway to erase the pandemic years and the news left me curled up in a ball, crying,” Langella said.
Since then, what has ensued has been a long lesson in supporting his staff and patrons to overcome the trauma.
With a team of experts in the field, Attilo has also been learning all about crisis relations and building strong community bonds.
“For half a year, we’ve offered counselling sessions to our staff. We’ve offered Victim Services support to members of the public who were there that fateful night and there is no doubt about it, we’ve made changes to how we do business,” Langella said.
“We’ve added a doorman on nights when we have entertainment. We’ve reduced our hours to midnight and the list goes on,” he said.
This fall, he’s even giving the restaurant a facelift with a menu overhaul to include even more homemade dishes. He also adding a few other safety restrictions.
Langella said when he took over the space 10 years ago, it was more of a bar environment with 70 per cent of service dedicated to drinks and 30 per cent to food. He flipped that around and wants to continue in that trajectory.
“We have always been a family restaurant and want to continue to operate it as such,” he said.
Over the years, the retail space on Notre Dame has been home to a number of bars and restaurants, including Gilmour’s, Cranky Joes and Black Jack’s.
Langella said the lease will expire in another year and a half, and they already have set their eyes on a new location in New Sudbury.
“That will be another part of the healing process and this journey that I don’t wish on anyone,” Langella said.
He manages the restaurants under owner, John Law. Law and his wife, Jolie Nguyen, own Law Enterprises, which operates more than 20 businesses and dining spots in the city of Greater Sudbury, including the Overtime Sports Bar and Grill locations in Sudbury, Val Caron and Chelmsford.
Langella, who was a carpenter before getting into the business, is also a community-minded individual who has raised thousands for charity, he said, a trend he hopes to continue.
“We’ve done fundraisers for Crime Stoppers, Ukraine, the Sudbury Food Bank, Porketta bingos for sports teams, and now we are doing jerk chicken bingos for the Northern Carribean Cultural Club on the last Thursday of every month,” he said.
Langella doesn’t want a lot of notoriety. When questioned, he will admit it ever so humbly.
But mention his name in restaurant circles and you will hear about how he donated pizzas every Sunday to the community needle exchange site when it was set-up in the area.
“When a man fell off rocks on Manitoulin Island, I delivered meals everyday to the House of Kin to feed the family until he went home. When Revenue Canada employees went on strike, I donated pizzas to the picket lines. I don’t do it for the exposure though. I do it because that is what good humans do,” he said.
Langella admits the last six months have been a lesson like no other. He encourages people to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. But he also won’t let the events of the last six months deter him from moving forward for the better.
Overtime is now taking Christmas party bookings at its three Greater Sudbury locations.
The penalty box private room can host 20 people.
To learn more, visit SudburySportsBar.com.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
