ToquiNotes: Trying to Measure the Impact that Proves Immeasurable - the Life of Petrina Oliverio Bonamico
By Jeff Toquinto on February 28, 2026 from ToquiNotes
It was Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day for those who find that date familiar. My wife Valerie and I were at the same spot where we went on our first official date more than three decades later – Oliverio’s Ristorante.
Although I can trace my first encounter with the Main Street building back to the days when it was still called Sonny’s, my appearances at 
the restaurant have multiplied immensely since we’ve been together. It is one of our happy places to get a drink and a bite to eat, and a high-quality place at that.
the restaurant have multiplied immensely since we’ve been together. It is one of our happy places to get a drink and a bite to eat, and a high-quality place at that.
I mention this not as a free endorsement of Oliverio’s Ristorante because they have progressed well past the need for someone like me to give them a boost. I bring it up because, as many of you know, the owner and operator of the business, Petrina Oliverio Bonamico, passed away last week – Wednesday, Feb. 18 to be exact.
Her parents were the originators of the popular Bridgeport destination. Shirley C. Donnellan Oliverio and the late Pete “Sonny” Oliverio, the aforementioned “Sonny,” laid the foundation that Petrina managed to build an iron clad restaurant fortress on.
In fairness, I cannot lay claim to being a close friend of Petrina Bonamico. My association with her came as the result of watching her children thrive at Bridgeport High School. I got to know both her and her husband Nunzio during those days when I was able to see very clearly she took the restaurant business as seriously as she did her family business by watching how she loved and supported her children during that time.
I never needed to be around the family before or after that time to know that it has been a constant in the Bonamico household from the birth of the first of her children to her last day on this earth. The real beauty is that Petrina Bonamico’s ability to love was not limited by blood or family ties.
I’m saying that without every being privy to any of the family’s personal moments or being around Petrina Bonamico and her social circle at any gathering – large or small. I say that as a positive casualty of my work.
Running the Connect-Bridgeport Web site and, particularly, the social media platforms we occupy require a lot of monitoring. Shortly after news of her passing made it to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others I am unaware of, the tributes came rolling in.
They came, not by the dozens, by the hundreds. I may be safe in saying by the thousands.
The stories, the comments, the reactions were not always the same or sometimes even close to the same. Yet they all carried the theme of a person who not only was loved but loved immensely.
If you were part of her tribe, she would love unconditionally. The social media commentary was filled with that, and it was also filled with sadness of someone who made the difference in the lives of so many people she knew, and probably a difference for all of them.
Here is the thing. Petrina Oliverio Bonamico made the difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people she never met or never knew. They were the individuals who walked through the doors of Oliverio’s Ristorante.
This region is blessed with some of the finest Italian dining establishments anywhere and, per capita, I’m putting my money local. Oliverio’s is at the top of any list for any individual, couple, or group wanting to go out and have a quality evening of food, friendship, and fellowship.
I am certain Oliverio’s was the “first date” site for many married couples. I am also sure it has been the site for countless events too numerous to mention. The thing that tied everything together was a gathering at the business Petrina Bonamico ran with a firm and loving hand was that each occasion was joyous.
How do you put a price tag on providing a place to gather that ends in smiles and memories? You cannot. It is priceless.
And for those who counted Petrina Bonamico as a friend or family member, they will tell you the same about their relationship – priceless.
That is why the loss in the community feels so deep, why the void feels massive. The hurt is intense because it matches the love she provided in her personal and professional roles.
The fact she left this earth at the age of 60 only makes it harder. What is not hard, however, is to say she made an impact in ways she knew, and in ways she may have never known for the miles of individuals who walked through the restaurant’s doors.
I say this as a bit of an outside observer. I also say it as a person who had his life impacted by being taken care of in an establishment she poured her soul into.
You cannot measure the price of providing joy. The impact is incalculable. For that alone, and so many other reasons, her impact should never be forgotten.
Rest easy Petrina. Your work here is done.
Editor's Note: Top photo is of Petrina Oliverio Bonamico enjoying the outdoors, while she is shown in the third photo with family, also outdoors, which is something she enjoyed immensely. However, the second and fourth photos are also with family, is what she enjoyed most. Photos courtesy of Oliverio's Ristorante Facebook page and Dante Bonamico's Facebook page.
