Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405190004
SECTION: DISCOVER NRV PAGE: 62 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Perhaps it's the Southerner in me," the native Virginian said, but her father "would've been disgusted if the meals at home hadn't started with good, hot bread."
Long raves about the menu, the chicken tropicana, the cleanliness, atmosphere and excellent service. And "I'm not kin to anyone there," she declared.
Discover poll participants, asked to name their favorite international cuisine in the New River Valley, overwhelmingly selected Ipanema.
Arnold Mink of Blacksburg said dining on fried bananas and pork at Ipanema is as good as a night in Paris long ago.
"It was 1961, and me and some fellas were out in this Argentine folk music place in Paris, if you can imagine that. The fried bananas, the rum, the pork chops ... well," he said, savoring the memory, "I hadn't tasted anything like it since, until going to Ipanema. I love it."
Another longtime Blacksburg resident, John Moody, dines at Ipanema because he likes "the linens and wine glasses, the nice touches."
John Rupe of Pulaski discovered the restaurant through a friend a few months ago and has gone four times since, ordering something different each time. Kelly Page Clark of Christiansburg wrote that the "atmosphere is unique to the area; distinctive. And I like the food."
It all started in Brazil about 1984. Reinaldo Monnerat Fonseca thought he might like to return to the United States to work, but he was skeptical. Fonseca, you see, had already spent several years in America and was very disappointed with what he had found.
A friend insisted that Virginia was different from New York City and Boston. The people were nice and friendly. His friend would give him a restaurant job. He would like Roanoke.
Although not completely convinced, Fonseca's adventurous spirit prevailed.
"It IS different here," he explained. "The people really are nice, and they treat foreigners with respect."
The 42-year-old owner of Ipanema started his Brazilian enterprise in February 1992 with borrowed money, a flair for the good things, a helping of hope and a splash of confidence.
His brothers helped with construction in what was a badly run-down building. He paid them half of what they were due, promising the other half when the business became stable. Well, they're paid up now, and Fonseca is making plans.
He has an opportunity to buy the building. He wants to spruce up the exterior and is contemplating some sort of outdoor dining. He works well over 60 hours a week and keeps tabs on every detail, from the tablecloths and salads to the food quality and light bulbs.
Fonseca, who makes a special effort to remember his patrons by name, said he studied U.S. history. He read about the immigrants who made this country great and he wanted to be one of them.
In a slight twist on his aspiration, he's made the international dining experience in the New River Valley something great to a lot of people.
by CNB