LACOMBE, La. — “He’s an iconic guy,” Sal Impastato’s son, Joe Impastato said. “People love my father, and we love him even more.”
Sal Impastato has three jobs. He’s a full-time restaurant owner, a full-time gardener, and a full-time family man.
“He’s very passionate,” Sal’s grandson, Salvatore Impastato said. “He’s a hard-working man, harder working than anyone I’ve seen.”
After a nine-foot fall from the balcony at his home in Lacombe last Monday, his family didn’t know what would come next.
“I was really worried. I had nothing to say. I was speechless,” Salvatore Impastato said.
Checking up on his persimmon trees, the 82-year-old was reaching over the balcony when rotten wood gave way.
“Very scary, because when you know his age and where he fell from and he couldn’t breathe, you think something must seriously be wrong,” Joe Impastato said.
He was taken to Lakeview Hospital Emergency Room in Covington with broken ribs and bones in his back.
“Everything since then has been positive,” Joe Impastato said. “There were no spinal cord injuries, no brain damage, no organ damage. The surgery went perfectly. He has two rods in his back now.”
Since then, the family says his recovery has been a rollercoaster.
“Everything was looking up because he was doing good. Then yesterday was rough, because we thought he would make more progress, so it was a long night,” Joe Impastato said.
On Tuesday, things took a turn for the better.
“Today, things have been great. He’s been walking, taking four and five steps,” Joe Impastato said.
If you go to Sal and Judy’s, Sal might not be in the restaurant, but his family says he’s still hard at work.
“On the ambulance ride, he was giving orders. He said to cut the veal properly and order this. Every day he has something to say about his work. It’s his passion and cares a great deal about his work. He’s still the general, just giving orders from a different location,” Joe Impastato said.
From Sicily Italy to Lacombe, Louisiana, Sal Impastato has been serving up the tastes of Italy for fifty years. He moved to the United States when he was just 18 years old and opened up Sal and Judy’s Italian Restaurant Fifty Years ago. Family says he is expected to make a full recovery.
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