Holiday Parties—Celebrate anytime. At our place or yours!
Crown Point
(located on our second floor in Crown Point)
Contact Private Dining Manager, Tony Hrisofos at tony@lucreziacafe.com (219) 661-LUCY
Chesterton
Sunday-Thursday!
Reserve with Christopher Strom at (219) 926-LUCY (5829) or inquire at heylucy@lucreziacafe.com
Culver
Reserve your holiday dinner party at our newest Culver location!
Private Holiday Luncheons Available.
Reserve with Angie Schafer at (574)842-3220 or inquire at heylucy@lucreziacafe.com
Normal Hours
Chesterton and Crown Point
Sun through Thurs | 11am–10pm (9pm winter)
Fri & Sat | 11am–11pm (10pm winter)
Culver
Monday & Tuesday – Closed
Wed – Thurs & Sun | 4pm–9pm
Friday & Saturday | 4pm–10pm
Holiday Hours
Chesterton & Crown Point
Thanksgiving: Closed
Memorial Day: Closed
4th of July: Closed
Labor Day: Closed
Christmas Eve: 11 am–7 pm
Christmas: Closed
New Year’s Day: Closed
Culver
Thanksgiving: Closed
Black Friday: Closed
Memorial Day: Closed
4th of July: Closed
Labor Day: Closed
Christmas Eve: Closed
Christmas: Closed
New Year’s Day: Closed
Reservation Policy
We offer “open seating”—first come, first serve seating.
Reservations are not accepted at this time at any of our locations.
LARGE PARTIES—Eight (8) or more—Please phone ahead. We ask that parties of eight or more arrive before 6pm or after 8pm on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Large parties dining before 6pm on a Friday or Saturday evening are asked to keep within a 2 hour dining window.
Please remember that your entire party must be present prior to being seated.
Buon Appetito
You can have your cake and eat it too!
Cakeage Fee* $3 per person
*It is a fee for bringing your own cake to our restaurant. The cakeage fee covers the cost of the waiter’s time and washing the dishes. It also helps offset the loss of revenue from in-house desserts, liability, and makes up for the extra time a party will be at the table but not ordering food.
Directions
Credit Cards Accepted
VISA™, Mastercard™, Discover™, American Express™ and Diners Club International™.
Gift Cards
Lucrezia Gift Cards are ONLY redeemable at:
- Lucrezia® Café – 428 S. Calumet Rd., Chesterton, IN 46304
- Lucrezia® Ristorante – 302 S. Main St., Crown Point, IN 46307
- Lucrezia® Trattoria – 117 S. Main St., Culver, IN 46511
Smoke-Free
Lucrezia ® Café is entirely smoke free.
Employment Opportunities
The success of Lucrezia® has its foundation in our dedication to producing high quality food at a great value, and to providing our customers with professional service. If you are interested and committed, we look forward to hearing from you. Please fill out our online application and we will get back to you shortly.
History of the real Lucrezia Borgia
Although no one knows the entire truth behind the life of Lucrezia Borgia, most historians agree that she was an enlightened ruler, kind and decisive in time of war, the wife of a nobleman, and a patron of the arts showing great generosity to poets and artists. We named our restaurant, Lucrezia, in honor of this remarkable, passionate, and beautiful Renaissance woman.
Of all of the princely houses of Renaissance Italy, few were more prominent than the Borgia family. Born in Rome, Lucrezia was the illegitimate daughter of Vanozza and Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, who later became Pope Alexander VI. Her father used the beautiful Lucrezia to further his political ambitions by arranging three marriages for her.
The first marriage to a man she didn’t love had been annulled and after finally falling in love with her second husband, he was murdered on orders from her brother, Cesare. The murder freed her to marry another powerful man so her family could gain higher standing. The third marriage was in 1501 to Alfonso, son of the Duke of Este, who inherited the Duchy of Ferrara.
When she became first lady of Ferrara, Lucrezia acquired more wealth and a higher social position than ever before. She also had a good deal of freedom. Alfonso pursued his interests in the military and left his wife to follow her own enthusiasms — poetry, music and dancing. She became a prominent patron of the arts, attracting the flattery of poets and scholars from all over Italy.But what of her reputation for wantoness and crime? Lucrezia has been called the most depraved woman in history. Did she keep bottles on her boudoir with perfume to seduce and poison to kill? Was she pricking enemies with an arsenic – drenching ring…her favorite method of disposing of men? Or was Lucrezia a victim of her family’s ruthless quest for power, exploited for her beauty and kindness?
Throughout history, women labeled as evil have made their mark. Many historians believe that Lucrezia was definitely a misunderstood femme fatale.
In the year 1833, Donizetti published his opera, Lucrezia Borgia, where he pronounced Lucrezia as a cruel murderess who poisoned her family’s enemies. Although she never actually poisoned anyone, that unfortunate association with her name has continued to this day.
In fact, a Chicago Sun-Times article from October 2, 2002, quoted Learco Andalo, “one of the world’s leading experts on the Borgias,” about her family’s infamous reputation: “The Borgias are the victims of biased historical accounts, based on malicious rumor,” according to Andalo. The Tribune explained that “Lucrezia Borgia did not poison anyone and probably did not have an incestuous affair with her father.” Hopefully we can help dispel these rumors and clear her name in the annals of history.
