Sergio Tofani’s history may seem the story of many young people who during the sixties and seventies left Sorrento to look for a job abroad, but unlike the others, Sergio left for Germany not to remain there but with a dream in his heart, that was to come back to open a restaurant and show to his loving father that he had become a real man.

In fact in 1978, after years of hard work and sacrifices but also filled with satisfactions, he comes back to Sorrento determined to start a business in the catering field, as soon as a good opportunity would arise.
And the opportunity soon turned up.

In 1980 Sergio and Paolo Esposito, waiter character of the historical restaurant “Peppe’s” took over a small restaurant in Via San Cesareo and with great sacrifices he transformed it, he named it “La Lanterna” and it becomes the most fashionable restaurant of the moment.

The couple Sergio-Paolo soon reveals itself to be a winning one, in fact after a year they buy the restaurant property “Peppe’s”, which upon advice of their friend Gaspare, they change its name to “Caruso”. They entrusted the architect Coluccio with the design, up to the smallest detail, who manages to create an elegant ambience, sober and cosy.

   These are the years of the song “Dallamericaruso” and Enrico Caruso revival, and so very quickly, this restaurant becomes famous at a national and international level, destination of a more sophisticated clientele.

But then comes the moment of the separation, after a long labour, Sergio and Paolo decide to separate. Sergio decides to follow his first love: “La Lanterna”. Sergio, who is a traditionalist and a total cuisine supporter, aims at the essentiality of the great Neapolitan and Mediterranean cuisine with its roots deep in the past, far from frills and dishes by famous chefs of the nouvelle cuisine, very famous but little appetizing and extremely poor. (Today, in support of his choice there is the total cuisine of the great master Gualtiero Marchesi).
Sergio, therefore, chooses a rich cuisine which is genuine and savoury and that does not leave the pockets and the stomach empty and which successfully applies to the restaurants of the Group: “La Lanterna Mare (later on sold), “La Lanterna Due” and recently “L’Abate”, in Piazza S.Antonino.

In 1990, the tireless entrepreneur, buys fifty per cent of the most famous night club in Sorrento, the “FILOU CLUB”, already destination of the revellers who love live music. The restaurant gets enlarged and from a small night meeting place it becomes the most elegant piano bar in Campania and its fame, thanks also to the artists which alternate every month and to Rosario Massa cordiality, who is Sergio partner, it becomes national. Even today Filou Club remains the only point of reference of the nocturnal Sorrento.