By Charlene Arsenault

These are difficult times for the independent restaurant. With a poor economy, and chain restaurants stomping through every main strip in every town like King Kong, a place such as Slattery's Restaurant and Bar has to hang on tight.

But Slattery's, which is on Lunenburg Street in Fitchburg, is hanging on, thanks to a loyal customer base, good food, proximity to Fitchburg State, and a longtime owner/chef who knows what he's doing. Slattery's has been there since 1934, and Dave Celuzza has owned it since 1984.

"You see very few independents opening nowadays," says Celuzza. "The pressure now is tremendous for a variety of reasons. Chain penetration, especially in my area, is peaking." Celuzza is the chairman of a 13-member consortium called the Independent Restaurant Group formed to unify independents in the area.

"To get a group together like this is unusual," he says. "I've seen it happen very few times. We have potential. It's not a panacea for what is going on, but we operate on a similar level in many respects."

An Italian who "enjoyed great food, with grandparents who lived next door," Celuzza says cooking — and eating — is in his genes. Majoring in history education at FSC, it wasn't originally in the game plan to go into the restaurant business. "I tended bar at Slattery's in 1970," says Celuzza. "I was a teacher for a little while. I left the area for a couple of years, doing the mountains in the winters and beaches in the summers as a bartender. I got off that roller coaster, and when the family was ready to sell, I was looking to buy."

Almost immediately, Celuzza updated the menu, and added a 200-seat dining room, which brought Slattery's from a neighborhood tavern to a bona fide restaurant. By 1987, he added another 100 seats. Over the years, he's evolved the menu into one that offers more than 100 items, and not only draws patrons from the college, but has a strong family base.

"I guess I'd call it upscale casual," he says. "A lot of people would say ‘pub fare,' but that makes me bristle. A lot of our dishes are casual in nature, but we do this all from scratch. We take food that you might see East of us and do it 30% cheaper. Many things on our menu, we put a different twist on. But we never think we know it all. I like to think I'm pretty in tune with what is going on, and ahead of the curve, but I'm learning all the time."

Most important kitchen tool: "In my house, I'd love to save the planet, but give me paper towels any day. But you know, a good's chef knife is the most important."

He'd love to cook for: "Ruth Reichl, the editor of Gourmet. I had the opportunity to have dinner with her. I bought it at an auction. Interesting night — I could give you a whole story on that. You like to have someone who knows what they're talking about. I'd make something simple and something Italian for her."

He's cooked for: "Ted Kennedy had lunch here. Just the other night, Dan Shaughnessy from The Globe had dinner here. "

Good cooking music: "It's jazz when I'm prepping and The Doors and Led Zeppelin when I'm on the line."

Favorite thing to cook: "Antipasto dishes from Italian, risotto, small plates that make Italian cooking fun and tasty."

Dislikes: "I'm not a huge lamb fan, but there is nothing I really hate."

In his refrigerator at home: "Lots of vegetables and lots of chicken. I'm a chicken-and-vegetable guy. "

Dinner last night: "Kung Pao shrimp that I made, actually. It's on the menu. We were running late, so I called up and I was on my way home. I cooked it up, so that's what me, my wife and son had." o