Bologna, August 20, 2026 – How many are the truly beautiful restaurants where, however, you feel at home? This feeling, this atmosphere of familiarity, trust, and friendship is what Carlo Frim, the historic maître and waiter of the renowned ‘Rodrigo’ on via della Zecca, worked for all his life until his retirement in June.
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Almost half a century that Carlo spent among the majestic halls of the restaurant learning to know entire generations of customers: from grandparents to great-great-grandchildren. But also entrepreneurs, tourists from all over the world, journalists of the caliber of Giovanni Spadolini, politicians such as Cossiga, Pertini, and Napolitano, and finally music stars like Springsteen, and cinema stars including Ugo Tognazzi and Nino Manfredi, even from periods now forgotten that he, and his mentor Enzo Venturi (another pillar of Rodrigo who retired years ago), have kept alive thanks to memories and testimonies.
“The famous person I enjoyed meeting the most? Gigi Proietti,” Carlo says without hesitation, while Enzo adds: “Without a doubt, for me, the actor Tino Buazzelli.”
Enzo was the first to understand that this place, more than a restaurant, had to become a ‘showcase’ in the golden years
Frim, a life in the dining room with Enzo
When Carlo started working at Rodrigo, almost by chance at first and sporadically, Enzo was already the right-hand man of the owner, Rodrigo, and everything he learned from him he then taught to Frim: “Enzo was the first to understand that this place, more than a restaurant, had to become a ‘showcase’ in the golden years. A place where people wanted to come to be seen or to see if there was someone famous. To this, he added a fundamental ingredient: hospitality, the familial, homely kind. He was able to create an atmosphere, which we have preserved, in which those who come regularly, but also those who come only once, must feel welcomed, must feel cared for. And Enzo taught me this with patience and dedication: he was never a despotic master. He supported me in what I did and when I made mistakes at the beginning, he calmly and lovingly explained where I went wrong and why.”
Regular customers would come even late at night to enjoy their favorite dish, I also remember groups of journalists who came to relax after closing the edition
Carlo has the smile of someone who loves his customers
Carlo then adds: “We have seen the years change. From when loyal customers came even late at night to enjoy their favorite dish to groups of journalists who came to relax after closing the edition for the press, we welcomed people to dinner after shows at the theater and it would get late. Times that are no longer here. Tourism has changed the city, but we have always tried to preserve this place and never let it change. Two main ingredients: the quality of the food and hospitality.”
Carlo today, and Enzo before him, have always welcomed everyone with the serene smile of someone who loves their customers, even when their day might have been difficult. Even when making every generation of customer feel at home meant sacrificing their own home and families with whom they could not share lunches or dinners, often not even holidays and festive days.
“When a customer looks for you, you understand you have done well”
“It wasn’t easy – Carlo and Enzo say –, we made many sacrifices, we and our families, but when the customer enters the restaurant and looks for you, you understand that you are doing well the job you love and every effort is rewarded.”
Carlo, in June, after his last shift, closed himself behind the heavy entrance doors of the restaurant on via della Zecca, among the hugs of colleagues. And accompanying him in this difficult ‘goodbye’ were the watchful eyes of all the ‘greats’ of history hanging on the walls of Rodrigo who, over the years, have ‘watched’ him grow among the rooms of the place and who, like a bridge between past and present, will watch over the future.
