One year later: Bruno Serato reflects as he prepares to reopen fire-damaged Anaheim White House

Jan. 25--When a devastating fire destroyed the Anaheim White House last February, owner Bruno Serato lost nearly everything he cherished.

Over the course of a few hours the flames swallowed his livelihood, an original painting of his mother Caterina and a letter from Pope Francis. The blaze also threatened his internationally recognized philanthropic crusade to feed 2,000 meals daily to needy children in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

It was, and remains, a nightmare.

Serato had hoped to reopen by Valentine's Day, but delays tied to financing the reconstruction have pushed the planned opening to mid-March.

"Losing Valentine's week is dramatic," said Serato, noting it falls on a Wednesday which often means romantic trysts spread out for a several days.

The hardship of being temporarily closed a year has cost the 30-year-old Anaheim White House roughly $3 million in sales. Serato has depleted his savings to cover expenses not yet released by the mortgage bank.

This week he took steps to refinance his Huntington Beach home. It would be the third time he's mortgaged his seaside residence to save the restaurant.

"People think I'm rich and famous. I am famous, but I'm not rich," said the CNN Top 10 Hero.

"My soul is rich."

Keeping the faith

Sitting at a table outside the Tower of Hope at Christ Cathedral on a breezy winter day, Serato, who received a Papal blessing for his work feeding needy children, recounts the fateful night of Feb. 4, 2017.

The restaurateur was up at 4 a.m. talking to his best friend in Europe. While chatting, a mystery caller left a message on his voicemail: His restaurant was on fire.

"I thought it was a joke," Serato said.

He jumped in his 10-year-old Mercedes and raced to the Anaheim restaurant. "My heart was pounding."

He arrived 20 minutes later, about half the time it normally takes, to see plumes of fire bursting from the roof of the Italian restaurant known for its resemblance to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with its flamboyant decor, sleek chandeliers and frescoes.

"I was crying my heart out."

What wasn't in ashes, was left scorched or ruined from water damage.

In the afternoon, a glimmer of hope emerged; a firefighter found in the rubble Serato's rosary, which had been blessed by Pope Francis. The beads nearly melted off but the crucifix survived.

"It was a sign," said the devout Catholic.

Feeding the Children

Between bouts of uncontrollable sobbing, Serato thoughts continued to return to his life's mission: Caterina's Club.

At the time, the charity was serving thousands of meals daily to children from low-income families. It is named after his mother, who insisted he feed local motel children a proper pasta meal after spotting a 6-year-old boy eating potato chips for dinner at the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim.

Over the years, he's been honored numerous times for his work, receiving a humanitarian award on the steps of the U.S. Capitol and a knighthood from the Italian Government. In May, Serato will be inducted into the Distinguished Restaurants of North America Hall of Fame during a ceremony in Chicago.

But, none of those accolades mattered on a bleak Saturday morning in February.

Come Monday, how would he feed the children?

He needn't have fretted.

Several restaurants and catering companies offered their kitchens. The first week his team prepared pasta meals at Highway 39 events center in Anaheim.

By the second week, he shifted to Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove. The diocese headquarters gave him permission to operate indefinitely inside a large commercial kitchen on their campus.

Serato's been there nearly a year.

"This is a gift from God," he says, pointing to the shimmering 44,000-square-foot glass sanctuary. "He gave me a church."

Caterina's outreach has since grown to serving 3,500 children at 62 locations in Orange County, Long Beach and Los Angeles.

The number surged after the fire.

"Lots of people starting calling me to help to feed more kids," Serato said.

Earlier this month, Christ Cathedral handed Serato, raised in Italy and France, another lifeline.

Anaheim White House Catering, which Serato co-owns with a business partner, was tapped to be the official food service provider for Christ Cathedral.

The partnership means the Yorba Linda-based catering company has exclusive rights to serve meals for private events held on site, from corporate meetings to weddings. The catering income has helped Serato pay his own personal bills since no funds have been flowing in from the restaurant.

Rising from the ashes

The fire, which started when an electrical outlet malfunctioned on the first floor, destroyed 80 percent of the two-story Colonial-style restaurant.

Though many regulars hoped he would reopen sooner, Serato said restoring the historic 1909 house has taken longer than anyone expected.

Dealing with the insurance and getting city approvals to ensure the historic integrity of the structure has been challenging, as well.

If it wasn't for a GoFundMe page, which ballooned to about $200,000 in the weeks following the fire, Serato said he wouldn't have had the funds last year to get the project off the ground. Nearly everything had to be torn down and rebuilt, including four of the 10 portico columns.

Interior designer Daniele Dolino, who has worked at The Vatican, has been overseeing much of the historic preservation. "Where we can, we've saved and re-used (architectural pieces) as much as possible," he said.

Dolino and Gaetano La Placa (construction) have deferred their invoices to keep the reconstruction on track until insurance payments are released from the bank.

"They are all working on trust," Serato said. "I have been blessed."

But he's also operating on faith.

Over the years, including during the Great Recession, he's refinanced his Huntington Beach town home, which overlooks the city's pier, to keep the restaurant afloat. He's preparing to do it again to ensure his restaurant reopens in March.

Excitement over the $1.6 million restoration is palpable.

Anyone who drives along Anaheim Boulevard can see the 1909 neo-classical building slowly coming back to life.

The signature portico and palatial columns are nearly complete. The major exterior changes include the elimination of ornamental balusters on the second floor and French-style windows in the front of the restaurant. The latter will be replaced with historically correct picture windows.

Inside, Serato, ever fond of fashion and over -the-top décor, said diners can expect the same sleek Anaheim White House but with a modern twist.

The Italianate frescoes are returning in the dining room, as well as a mix of contemporary lightning and chandeliers.

For the first time, the Anaheim White House will have a full service bar. The second story lounge will seat 80 customers and serve a separate international small plates menu. A balcony facing Disneyland, formerly a private dining area, will be converted to bar seating.

"It will have a view of the fireworks," Serato said.

On Monday, Serato said when it's all done, the outside will still look like the White House but the inside will resemble a Roman villa.

"It's going to be magnificent."

Bruno's American Dream

Raised in France and Italy, Bruno Serato came to the United States with $200 in his pocket in 1980.

In Brea, French restaurateur Louis Laulhere of La Vie en Rose took him under his wing. Serato worked his way through several positions at the classic French restaurant including dishwasher, busboy, server and finally general manager.

Laulhere taught him how to run a restaurant, and gave him the courage to strike out on his own.

In 1987, he bought the Anaheim White House, a historical landmark built as a home in 1909. The neo-classical building had previously staved off demolition years before and was a restaurant prior to Serato taking ownership.

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