Iconic Italian eatery Ortobello fights to rebuild after fire as Brooklyn residents rally to save community fixture

Andrea Cerasuoli hasn’t quite been himself since an early April fire torched Ortobello, the beloved Italian joint in Bensonhurst that his father started back in 1974.

“I’ve been kind of — I don’t want to say depressed,” Cerasuoli, 48, told The Post on Monday. “But I’ve been feeling down because of the whole fire situation.

“I’m not really over the shock of it all,” the Brooklyn restaurateur continued. “It’s all I think about. I think about the future, wanting to reopen and get back to normal. I didn’t shave for a couple weeks. Yesterday, I shaved for the first time.”

The fire flared up in the exhaust system at about 6 p.m. on April 6 — a Saturday night, as luck would have it — and tore through the kitchen, blowing out windows and leaving the area a charred, blackened mess.

The kitchen now needs a new ceiling, exhaust and ductwork, Cerasuoli said. The work should take around a week once the insurers sign off.

“I’m going to reopen, there’s no doubt,” the father-of-two pledged. “Every day I come here. I don’t want the restaurant to be abandoned. It’s been tough … I haven’t been working for a little over two weeks now. My mind is here.”

Despite the challenge, the Bensonhurst community has turned out in force to help the 40-seat fixture on the corner of Bay Parkway and 64th Street.

A GoFundMe established to help Cerasuoli pay for repairs has already gathered more than $16,000 of a $75,000 goal — and loyal customers say they can’t wait to return to the red-sauce joint known for its tasty stuffed artichokes, gooey deep-fried carrozza and mouthwatering chicken parmigiana with spicy vodka sauce.

“That chicken parm (and everything else on the menu) needs to continue to exist,” one man wrote on the fundraiser page. “Hoping you come back better than ever!”

A few Ortobello regulars also dropped by in-person Monday to lend their support.

“They got good food, what can I tell you?” Pat Fleming, of Gravesend, told The Post when he stopped in to donate some cash for the rebuild.

Fleming and his wife have come to the corner restaurant once or twice a month for the last three decades — and he said he’s never had a bad meal.

“A lot of people who come here have been coming here for a long time,” Fleming said. “You come in here, and you’re greeted like family. And Andy’s a nice guy — Andy’s a good person.”

Cerasuoli said he’s been overwhelmed by the donations and can’t believe how generous people have been.

But knowing his customers won’t abandon him has made him feel good.

“We’re family here,” he said. “I know everybody who comes in, by [their] first name. When they come in we talk about my kids, their kids, they ask how my mom’s doing and I ask how their mom’s doing. Everyone’s been very supportive.”

Anna Ojeda, a 71-year-old from the neighborhood, said there’s usually a line to get in each and every Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a very good restaurant, the food’s delicious and the service is excellent,” Ojeda said, noting that she’s a fan of the calamari and chicken parm.

“They’ve been here a long time, and they’re excellent for the area,” she continued. “It draws in a lot of Italian people from outside the neighborhood. I hope it comes back quickly.”

Cerasuoli said his grand reopening can’t come soon enough.

“The bills don’t stop — I still have the gas bill, electric bill and the rent to the landlord,” Cerasuoli said. “Everyone still wants to be paid … It’s one of the tough parts of not being open: there’s no money coming in.”

But he promises the place will endure, as it has every year since his late father Luigi opened the doors all those years ago.

“Everything in the neighborhood has changed — but us,” he said. “Other stores have come and gone over the years. But we’re still here.”