The story of the Cipriani family begins in earnest in Venice back in 1931. Giuseppe Cipriani was a bartender who was working in a little hole in the wall, out of the way bar on a dead end street in Venice. But Giuseppe Cipriani had bigger plans. His philosophy was to establish a place where the customer never feels oppressed by décor, treats customers as guests, be humble, kind, and unpretentious.

Before long his little bar/restaurant was attracting glitterati from around the world. His customers included folks like Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, Orson Wells, Joe DiMaggio, Aristotle Onassis, and George Clooney to name just a few.