Washington restaurant has ties to Italy

An elegant restaurant has taken up residence on the east side of Washington's downtown square. “When you step into Cafe Dodici, you could be anywhere in the world,” says proprietor Lorraine Williams.

Williams - who opened the restaurant in 2004 with her Italian husband Alessandro Scipioni and niece Tsalika Drown - says Cafe Dodici was born out of a passion for Italian food that she developed after living in Italy for 27 years. She opened the restaurant to not only draw people to her hometown of Washington, but also to help boost her community's self esteem.

And the plan worked, she says, as now more than 85 percent of Cafe Dodici diners come from out of town. “People often tell us they unwind on their drive here. They are getting ready for a nice meal.” The restaurant, able to seat 70, has received much acclaim from Iowa foodies and beyond.

At one point, Williams says they were told to tear down the building. Instead, her family decided to invest in an extensive renovation and revitalization and the building now sits as a crown jewel on the Washington square.

And business continues to grow. They have now opened a coffee shop, Dodici's Shop, next door to the restaurant to cater to a daytime crowd. They've also built Dodici Night Suite, an overnight suite above the restaurant, for visitors who want to explore more of Washington, just as Williams would have hoped.

So, what does ‘Dodici' mean?

In Italian, the word ‘dodici' means 12. “We never do anything without a meaning or purpose,” says Cafe Dodici owner Lorraine Williams. “Dodici is not a random number. It is based on the dodecahedron,” the 12-sided sphere which is pictured in the restaurant's logo. Williams says, “In our everyday lives we find 12 months in a year, 12 hours of day and night, 12 notes in music, 12 inches. It is also a central theme in many areas of life from all over the world, Christianity's 12 disciples, the 12 deeds of Buddha, 12 spheres of mathematics and the 12 essential organs of the human body. in essence, how we function, how we organize and how we understand our everyday lives is a result of the ‘magic' number 12.”

- By Katie Mills Giorgio

Cafe Dodici

122 S. Iowa Ave., Washington, Iowa

Open Wed. to Sat.: 5 to 9 p.m.; Sun. Brunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

(319) 653-4012

www.cafedodici.com