It may be a Saturday of a West Virginia University home football game. There is a chance it could be any Sunday on the calendar.

 

Either of those situations allows Bridgeport’s Scott Duarte to watch an assembly line of perfection that would make CEOs in the motor industry green with envy. This particular assembly line only makes the mouths of those in North Central West Virginia in beyond water in anticipation of the finished product.

 

Bridgeport’s Scott Duarte is getting familiar with this assembly line. He knows it is special. It has to be in order to not only pump out what is soon to be eaten, but to do it to perfection over and over again.

 

“The process of this says so much about the staff to see 2,000 meatballs prepared on a busy day and to prepare anywhere between 40 to 50 gallons of sauce,” said Duarte. “On those days, you may go through 100 pounds of cheese as well.”

 

Welcome to Duarte’s world of food, where 2,000 meatballs in one day is generally the rule as opposed to the exception. His world is a place he has been familiar with for most of his life. Recently, he made a move in that food world to what is arguably the highest rent district available when it comes to quality and longevity.

 

The place? Muriale’s Italian Kitchen in Fairmont, which has been owned and operated by the Muriale family since 1969 and took over by Rocco Muriale in the 1980s, is now under the ownership and management of Duarte and his wife Jennifer.

 

On the food front, this is a big deal. Actually, make that BIG deal.

 

Muriale’s has achieved what most desire in the hospitality industry, and that is to not only become a destination, but a landmark. The food is that good, which is a testament to Rocco.

 

Rocco Muriale treats the business like a child. In fact, he’s fathered it to maturity and prosperity and handing it off could not come easy. He said in a statement that he has been thinking about the legacy of the business for seven years and for the last few years he has been wondering about how it would continue.

 

That is where Duarte enters. And it is where Rocco Muriale showed the ultimate in respect by giving his baby to Scott Duarte to own and manage as opposed to putting up a for sale sign and relinquishing a legacy to the highest bidder.

 

For anyone knowing the care Rocco has put into his business off the 132 Exit of Interstate 79, they know if it ever changed hands, it would go to someone who would carry on the legacy. He found that person here in Bridgeport in Duarte.

 

Ironically, their relationship is not new. In fact, Duarte is in the business because of Rocco’s father Frank.

 

More than three decades ago, Duarte was looking for a job. He saw an ad for a short order cook and Frank Muriale interviewed the youngster back in the mid-1980s.

 

“That was when there was also a Muriale’s at Eastpointe, right beside Kmart,” said Duarte. “That’s where I started, and this is where I will finish my career. I guess I have come full circle with a job interview that has covered 34 years.”

 

Duarte’s venture into food was unexpected. He grew up in the North View section of Clarksburg and had access to food made by Italian and Spanish families. However, he said his only cooking came when he was hungry.

 

“Back then, if you were hungry, you cooked. I wasn’t looking for anything by applying there other than to make some money, but then I got there and enjoyed it,” said Duarte. “Soon thereafter I realized I wanted to make it a career.”

 

After that first job, the journey progressed. He went to culinary school in Pittsburgh in the early 1990s and then went to the Greenbrier to work. He had an interruption where he worked for a food service provider, before helping open up the Tamarack as executive chef and then moving to Pinehurst Resort as an executive sous-chef for six years.

 

There was a stint as a general food service manager and executive chef to the Greenbrier and running the Tamarack Conference Center upon its opening. Then, he made the move back home.

 

“I came to work at Charles Pointe in November of 2005 and the (Bridgeport) Conference Center opened in April of 2006. In December of 2013, we opened up Mia Margherita and it’s about ready to celebrate its eighth anniversary,” said Duarte, about the business owned by CP Hospitality and Jamie Corton. “I worked at the Conference Center and with Charles Pointe for nearly 16 years.”

 

The run in Bridgeport is over for Duarte. For the first time in his life, he is the entrepreneur.  He knows it is a challenge.

 

“We’re 100 percent in. I am excited for this opportunity,” he said.

 

Again, for those knowing the local food scene, this is not a typical opportunity. He has been handed the keys to a food Ferrari and is ready to keep it running smoothly.

 

“I am grateful Rocco had the confidence in us to do this. We realize we have purchased not just a restaurant, but a landmark institution,” said Duarte.

 

The history he said is shaped by Rocco Muriale. He said it is shaped Muriale’s parents and an aunt and uncle that got things going in 1969 and included the rest of the family along the culinary voyage.

 

As much as Duarte appreciates what he knows from the history, he is equally impressed with what Rocco has built with his work force that is firmly in place in the present. Duarte, no stranger to dealing with staffs of all sizes, said even though he anticipated it to be solid, staff was better than he imagined.

 

“I expected a championship caliber staff, but the level of quality in this staff is just a testament to them and Rocco. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “There are staff members that have been here 20 to 25 years. They are loyal to this restaurant and to producing a quality product.”

 

Duarte said Rocco’s relationships with those individuals is another reason it took years to get the deal worked out. And he said he is fine with that.

 

“I understand why it took so much time. When you have his passion and attachment, it’s hard to let go,” said Duarte. “I think a big part of everything working out is still having Rocco stay on board for the next 12 to 18 months or however long the need is in helping the transition and mentoring me.

 

“I understand it as well because it took me a long time to move on from what I was doing,” he continued. “Over the several years of discussion, I wrestled with leaving something I felt very close to and a product I believed, and still believe, is one of the best in the area.”

 

Now, he is close to a product just up Interstate 79 North. And it is a product that does not need fine tuning.

 

“I’ve heard a lot about changing things. Things will stay the same, and not because you want to or have to, but because you have respect for that cuisine,” said Duarte. “The food is so highly thought of in the manner it is prepared, and we’re going to preserve it and really celebrate that heritage.”

 

He will do that many days with Jennifer by his side. The familiar face at Bridgeport High School is serving as Scott’s advisor, as he said she has done for decades. She will greet people and help with marketing and concepts and in many areas. His son Brennan will be in the kitchen and is getting plenty of one-on-one time with Rocco on the restaurant’s recipes as he puts his WVU degree with a hospitality emphasis to work.

 

“Rocco’s shoes are big shoes to fill, and it will take many feet to fill them,” Scott said, pointing out that he and Jennifer “have grown together in this business.”

 

They will all be part of that assembly line. Instead of Rocco heading it up, it will be Bridgeport’s own Scott Duarte. And he knows he has the help already positioned.

 

“Rocco has embedded leadership in his staff, and you see that with the sheer efficiency and consistency of the team delivering high quality food and doing it continually,” said Duarte. “They’re very good at what they do, loyal to the brand and proud of the product in which they put out and you see the same pride in those who serve it.”

 

Duarte said he takes pride in hearing some people call the eatery a family restaurant and even an old-school spaghetti joint. He said those are compliments based on what people expect when they dine there.

 

“It feels like home. We don’t have to build the heritage because the heritage is already here. There’s a lot of history and tradition,” Scott said. “We bought the restaurant from Rocco, but it belongs to Marion County and North Central West Virginia.”

 

With all those owners, it is no wonder the assembly line has to produce so many meatballs. While you are prepping things Scott, throw a few extra meatballs on for me. Like so many others, I will be there to see you – and my friend Rocco – soon.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows an early-morning photo of the assembly of thousands of meatballs made weekley and that's Rocco Muriale in the background watching the process. In the second photo, Murials, middle, is shown with the Duarte family, from left, Sophia, Jennifer, Rocco, Scott, Amelia, and Brennan (not pictured is son Brock who resides out of the area), while in the third photo Muriale shares knowledge on how to make his sauce to Brennan. The next three photos show finished products, while Scott and Rocco make a toast in the next to last photo. Below is the Muriale's staff, including Duarte family members and Rocco.