Diamond Lil's premier steak house, generous owner

Christine Young

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Pete Funaro, owner of Diamond Lil’s and Laurie Hurtado, general manager, are pleased that Diamond Lil’s is open again and doing well. Hurtado worked for Diamond Lil’s before it closed and came back again to see it flourish once again.

SALT LAKE CITY — In November 1969, Jim Pietramali and Garth Campbell opened Diamond Lil’s doors for business at 1528 West North Temple. The original building was a modest home, which was remodeled using old barn lumber and logs from pioneer cabins, some of which are 100 to 150 years old.

The seating capacity was 32 people in about 1,000 square feet. Today the seating capacity is 500. The original kitchen was about the size of a large walk-in closet. Today there is a full-sized kitchen with a walk-in freezer. Bread and prime rib were cooked in a home-sized gas oven. Today there are large ovens and stoves.

From the very beginning, Diamond Lil’s philosophy has been to serve the best quality product in generous amounts at affordable prices.

Today Diamond Lil’s is owned by Pete Funaro. He started working at Diamond Lil’s in 1970 for his uncle, Jim Pietramali. Pietramali, 87, still works for Diamond Lil’s.

“A lot of customers kept coming back and we became the premier steak house in Salt Lake City,” said Funaro. “We are an independent Utah’s own company. The seating allows for parties that can seat as many as 275 people at one time.

In 1973, they started adding on to Diamond Lil’s. They used only logs from Utah cabins.

Funaro also has his own wholesale pasta business, Funaro’s Perfect Pasta. Diamond Lil’s serves Funaro’s pasta. All of his pasta was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Funaro has been a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish since 1979, when he moved to Salt Lake City from Gonzaga, Wash. He is also involved in community work. He tries to go to Mass at the Carmelite Monastery as often as he can. Every year he is in charge of the food service at the Carmelite Fair. He procures all the licenses and makes sure everything up to code in a safe and sanitary way.

He helps three or four charities who need help including donating hamburgers and hotdogs, pasta, and meatballs, as well as the ham for the Knights of Columbus breakfast to Blessed Sacrament Parish for their annual fall festival.

Funaro also is a sponsor for Eye Care for Kids of Utah. It is for children and adults who do not have the money or insurance to pay for their own eye care.

“We also have a classic car show once a year for Eye Care for Kids of Utah here at Diamond Lil’s,” said Funaro. “I also am a sponsor of the Midvale Family Health Clinic. We do a dinner with the public along with a silent auction. Last year I donated a dinner for that fundraiser.”

This year Funaro also donated a dinner for 10 to the Carmelite Fair with Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon as the guest of honor. The dinner was purchased on the live auction by Debra Falvo for $625.

“Pete’s wife, Cindi, works for me,” said Falvo. “Pete is such a generous man and does a lot of work in the community. He works seven days a week. I met them because Funaro’s Catering is next to my father’s business on Main Street in Magna. Pete is such a positive influence in the community.

“He has done a lot to bring back Diamond Lil’s since it closed for a couple of years and then was reopened,” said Falvo.

“I have put my heart and soul into Diamond Lil’s over the past 40 years,” said Funaro. “It closed for a couple of years and opened up under my ownership. I have people who work with me now who worked here during the 1970s. All my cooks and staff are loyal. Over the years I have been lucky to have a lot of good friends and really close family members.

“My favorite time is when my whole family gets together for Sunday dinner. I have nine children, and I love each one of them,” said Funaro. “Sometimes we have family dinners here at Diamond Lil’s.”

Funaro also has been a mentor to the young boys who have worked for him. Some of them have continued to work for him for 15 or 20 years.

“I make sure they are getting good grades in school and if they are not, they do not have time to work for me,” said Funaro. “I even help them with their homework. We have become a family at Diamond Lil’s. I have some customers who have come back time and time again over the years.”