Graziano’s Brick Oven Pizza, a family-owned Italian restaurant northwest of Chicago, will be hosting its Dine Out for Down Syndrome Awareness event on Oct. 28.

Patrons can donate $25 cash or check at the door, which covers appetizers, pizza, beer, wine and soft drinks. Additionally, throughout October, which is National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, the restaurant will donate 20 percent of customers’ food and drink total to ADSC.

Roberto Graziano, Maria Gonzalez Demet and Steven Demet opened Graziano’s, 5960 W. Touhy Ave., in 1994, one of the first restaurants in the Chicago area with a wood-burning oven. Graziano left the business in 1997, Steven Demet said in an email.

For the owners, the cause is close to home. The Demets have a 12- year-old son named John who was born with Down syndrome, Steven Demet said.

“We were always involved with Orchard Village but began to focus on charities for persons with developmental disabilities when John was born,” Demet said. “We have raised over $30,000 for ADSC.”

Karyn Odway, a spokeswoman for the Advocate of Adult Down Syndrome Center, said she is grateful there are businesses such as Graziano’s that support ADSC so people with Down syndrome can have resources available. 


“We have more than two decades of experience treating patients medically, but also we acknowledge the need for support outside the exam room,” said Dr. Brian Chicoine, director of ADSC in an Oct. 13 press release from Advocate Medical Group.

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Adult Down Syndrome Center strengthens health-promoting programs and receives financial support, according to the press release. The center provides specialized care such as support groups for the patients and families who must accommodate a son or daughter’s Down syndrome symptoms, according to the press release.

“We are so grateful for the support from families, friends and businesses,” Chicoine said. “These contributions make a difference in the lives of our patients, families and the Down syndrome community.”

The Dine Out for Down Syndrome Awareness event will begin at 5 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. on Oct. 28.