Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches invites musicians, dancers, actors, comedians, spoken word artists, and other creatives to perform and enjoy others’ performances at its open mic nights.
On the third Saturday of every month, with some exceptions, the open mic night starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 8, with an impromptu jam session often extending into the evening hours.
Traci (Deraco) Ginnona is the 61-year-old daughter of Gus and Maxine Deraco, the original owners of Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches. The Lebanon County native and her husband of 38 years, Ron Ginnona, are the current owners of the restaurant.
Traci Ginnona graduated from Cedar Crest High School in 1980 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from Penn State in 1984. After graduating, she fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a professional writer, joined a writer’s club — where she eventually became the co-chair of its writer’s conference and gained experience with event planning — and got involved with “coffeehouses,” also known as open mics.
Ron Ginnona had a career in fixing cars and later remodeling houses before entering the food business with his wife last year.
The couple told LebTown that their family’s shared interest in the arts, specifically music, led them to continue attending open mics over the years to watch their children perform.
Ron plays the guitar and other instruments; Traci plays the piano; their daughter sings and plays the piano; and their son plays the drums. “He’s the professional musician in the family,” Traci said of their son, who recently earned his master’s degree in music composition and theory and performed at an open mic night at the restaurant.
“We just wanted to open [the restaurant] up and support the arts and support anybody that wants to be able to be creative,” Traci said. “And the part that gets personal for me is I found myself saying … I want to be able to find a place for kids to go and for them to do something. And I realized I sounded like my father.”
When Gus Deraco was in the food business, he created opportunities for youth to gather and participate in activities such as football games and dances. Traci wanted to keep her parents’ legacies alive in her own way.
Last year, the Ginnonas started to participate in the First Friday Art Walk. They quickly realized that displaying art in their restaurant would not keep people in the space long enough to make connections and create a sense of community.
Then, in January of this year, John Holmes, who is a 15-year-old singer, songwriter, and guitarist who recently released an EP, was invited to perform at Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches as part of the First Friday Art Walk.
“This young man’s 15 years old, and like, wow,” Traci said. “And he came in. And they brought a crew of people. It was packed. It was an extremely successful night.”
“And then, just in talking with the business owners and some friends in the Lebanon area, they knew that John was involved in open mics in other areas,” Angie Holmes, John’s mother, told LebTown. “So, we had just gotten the idea that we need to do something in Lebanon.”
The ELCO High School student, along with his mother, helped promote the event by word of mouth, contacting local schools and organizations, creating and posting flyers, and sharing pictures and videos on social media.
This February, John Holmes emceed the first open mic night at Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches. Traci Ginnona said the event was “packed” despite concerns about it being scheduled for the very next month and during the evening hours on Saturdays.
“The first open mic that we did, when we finished, we all sang ‘Margaritaville,'” Traci said. “But literally, the whole place was just singing together. And I thought that was just really, really nice.”
Despite the “Margaritaville” ending to the first open mic night, Ron said, “It seemed like previously, we [would] just kind of end, and then everybody would leave. But it was kind of like, once we got done working, it’d be almost time to leave.”
Ron knew a restaurant manager at a golf club that hosted open mics where people would come and perform, and following the performances, everybody would jam together. So, he suggested to John Holmes that they also try to get people to jam, and the open mic nights since have extended well past the official end time.
“A lot of people know enough that you don’t have to be a real professional to be able to just get together with some other people and play together,” Ron said. “It’s really not as hard as it looks once you do it. The worst part is getting over your nervousness of doing it. But sometimes it’s easier to do it with other people because when you’re doing it by yourself, it’s just you.”
John Holmes said that much of his work as the emcee of open mic nights is simply “making sure people have a good time and come back.” And he has been successful in that endeavor, with some performers traveling upwards of an hour to the restaurant located at 714 Cumberland St.
“I think one of the things that’s great about open mic is we, like I said, we have some performers that come consistently every month,” Angie Holmes said, noting it is also true of those who come to enjoy others’ performances. “And we also have people that pop in because they happen to be available or they heard about it.”
“But there’s definitely a family atmosphere, like we all joke around with each other now, and these are people we just met a few months ago,” she added.
Traci echoed this community-centered sentiment, noting that they have seen guests from open mic nights return to eat at Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches when the event is not going on.
The open mic nights are free to perform and attend and are open to all ages, abilities, and art forms. The restaurant serves as a youth- and sober-friendly alternative to bars where open mics are often held.
During the event, guests can order from Gus Deraco’s Italian Sandwiches’ full menu, which features hot and cold sandwiches, soups, salads, sides, and a recently expanded selection of Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream.
“Our performers are serious, too. They wait until they’re done performing to eat. It’s amazing,” Traci said. “The people that come to watch them are eating. But the performers say, ‘When I’m done, that’s just what I want you to make.'”
John Holmes said in closing, “If you want to showcase whatever you do, and you are available on the third Saturday of every month, then stop on by.”
The next open mic night is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. The restaurant will continue to leave its door open over these warmer months to invite passersby.
Looking towards the future, the Ginnonas are working on ways to expand the event in the future and continue attracting people to downtown Lebanon and its small businesses.
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