In Memory: Johnny Costa, Longtime Restaurateur & Chef

PALM SPRINGS, CA — Johnny Costa (Costagliola), founder of the popular Palm Springs Italian eatery Johnny Costa’s Ristorante, passed away Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2019 at 87 years old, according to his family.

Costa, who was a chef and restaurateur for more than four decades in the Palm Springs area, was born in Naples, Italy, before coming to the United States.

In the 1960s, as Costa cooked at various local restaurants where Frank Sinatra liked to dine, the two became friends, and Johnny even worked as Sinatra’s personal chef at his desert home.

On Costa’s Ristorante menu today are two of the performer’s favorites — Steak Sinatra (New York strips with vegetables in a red-wine sauce) and the linguini and clams in garlic oil and white wine.

Around the time he worked at Sinatra’s residence, Costa opened his own restaurant, first in Desert Hot Springs and then moving it to Cathedral City before settling at its Palm Springs location at 440 S. Palm Canyon Drive.

Costa is survived by his sons, Vince, Tony, John Jr., and Nick, daughter Michelle, grandsons Vincenzo and Giovanni, his sisters, Maria and Rose, nephews Sal and Chip Illiano and niece Lisette.

The Costa family said they look forward to carrying on Johnny's legacy.