Fabian's Italian Bistro Offers Relaxed Environment With A Fresh Take on Traditional Cuisine

When you’re the son of an early ‘50s and ‘60s American teen idol, perhaps one just gets used to having a spotlight looming nearby. Even marrying such a son might instill certain awareness. What ever the case may be, husband and wife Christian and Mercedes Forte are handling their newfound attention with a certain cool collectedness as the owners of the new Fair Oaks restaurant, Fabian’s Italian Bistro.

It’s been nearly a month since Christian and Mercedes held their official grand opening for Fabian’s on Feb. 19. At the grand opening Christian’s father and ‘50s and ‘60s teen hearthrob and celebrity, Fabian Forte, was on hand greeting customers.

Fabian had been instrumental from the beginning when Christian and Mercedes first started joking about the idea of starting their own restaurant, Christian said.

“We had wanted to do a family business for a long time and it just so happened that he didn’t live here,” Christian said.

Fabian was living in Pennsylvania and would constantly communicate with Christian and Mercedes on visits or over the phone about the idea.

Christian had toyed with the idea of opening a business while living in Los Angeles, working as a screenwriter and script doctor for 17 years. He had had some success in show business, penning two scripts that would eventually be produced into feature-length films – Albino Alligator, directed by Kevin Spacey, the other Deep In The Valley, written and directed by Christian himself, according to IMDb.

Christian explained he knew he had to be deadly serious about wanting to open a restaurant, though.

“Don’t open up a restaurant just because you want a cool place to hang out in,” he said.

He knew about how that could go too, as he saw a bunch of his buddies make a lot of money fast and think it would be great to open up a cool club or bar or restaurant just because they wanted a cool place to hang out.

"And they went out of business within a year, because that’s not what it’s about," Christian said.

After Mercedes graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles and the couple decided to get married the idea of living in L.A. became less and less appealing. They wanted to raise a family and knew it couldn’t be in L.A.

“I never wanted to be in L.A. in the first place,” Christian explained. “I was in that sausage grinder in Hollywood for a long time.”

Mercedes grew up in Fair Oaks; attended school at St. Francis and her father, John Chavez, is the owner of Fair Oaks Auto Repair.

When the newlyweds decided to start their family, they looked around but somehow knew they’d end up in Fair Oaks, Christian said. And that’s when joking conversations about opening a restaurant started becoming serious conversations about new business logistics.

“The first thing I asked when I moved up here was where is all the great Italian food,” Christian said.

Outside of the Olive Garden and a couple other Italian-style restaurants, Christian still felt there was a void that could be filled with something fun and unique.

“It got serious about three years ago,” Christian said. “It’s just one of those things, though. It’s difficult to do and we all had other jobs and the children besides moving into a whole new field.”

The couple started investigating the area, found their locale, but wanted to make sure the food they offered would be authentic and unique, but at the same time approachable, meshing well with the community.

That’s when Christian’s father, Fabian, started having more impact. Christian explained many of the bistro’s recipes were ones he grew up with. Fabian was always active in the kitchen while Christian was growing up, he recalls. The restaurant’s signature Lasagne Bolognese is something the family has been working on for years and many of the sauces are made fresh daily, Christian said.

“You hear them back there (pointing toward the kitchen)?” Christian asked. “They’re actually cooking back there, not opening cans. We have a can opener, though it doesn’t get much use.”

Indeed, walking through the restaurant, one gets the sense much of what is on display comes from a familiar place, not something generated by a large corporation. From the pictures of Fabian as a youth, crooning to his adoring fans to the handcrafted pastries and rotating selections of wines and beers, Fabian’s Italian Bistro is keeping true to the family traditions Christian grew up with. And as Christian explains, it’s very much like having another baby in the family.

“People ask me if we have kids and I’ll say yes, 'we have a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a two-month-old restaurant,'” Christian said. “It seriously is like a child. And someone always has to be there with the child.”

Like any growing family, Mercedes acknowledges there was some getting used to for their actual children dealing with the "new baby" in the family.

“It took a couple of weeks, but one day they were kind of like, 'OK we get it,'” Mercedes said. “Now they can come in for lunch and hang out in a booth and color.”

Right now the Forte family will continues experimenting with new ideas, and is gearing up for warmer weather as well.

“We made our concept to fit within what was happening in the economy, which was always something we had envisioned for the place anyway” Mercedes said. “We’re just really excited for the warm weather.”

Christian explains the couple had toyed with the idea of opening a fine-dining restaurant, with the white table cloths, but was ended up wanting to take a more relaxed and approachable atmostphere instead.

While it’s still a little ways off, the Fortes are going to be testing a new springtime brunch when the weather starts to permit. There are other long-term ideas on the horizon as well, including private catering.

For now, the couple is happy where they are and grateful to have Fabian and the rest of the family playing such active roles in the restaurant’s growth.

“It’s just kind of a representation of the family,” Christian said. “He’s the patriarch of the family and the influence.”