[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 43 (Monday, March 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF MR. DRAGO CVITANOVICH

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. CEDRIC L. RICHMOND

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 13, 2017

  Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of Mr. Drago Cvitanovich, co-founder of Drago's Seafood Restaurant, who 
passed away on February 4, 2017 at the age of 94.
  Mr. Cvitanovich was born in 1922 in Yugoslavia, now Croatia, and fled 
the communist rule of his homeland after World War II. He fled to 
Germany and worked as a civilian employee of the United States Army. 
Later, Mr. Cvitanovich moved to Canada and worked for a lumber company. 
In the spring of 1958, he took a trip to New Orleans to visit family 
and experience his first Mardi Gras. It was there that he met Ms. Klara 
Buconic, a fellow Croatian, who was also visiting her family. Three 
weeks later, they were married in Buras, Louisiana.
  The first Drago's restaurant in New Orleans was in Lakeview, but it 
was not named for Mr. Cvitanovich. It was owned by his sister, Gloria, 
who named it after her husband, Drago Batinich. Mr. Cvitanovich would 
work for nine years at his sister's restaurant and two years with Acme 
Oyster House in the French Quarter. In 1969, Drago and Klara 
Cvitanovich opened their restaurant in Metairie's Fat City 
neighborhood. Since that time, Drago's Seafood Restaurant has grown to 
three locations and more than 450 employees.
  Mr. Cvitanovich cultivated relationships with hundreds of other 
Yugoslav immigrants who had settled in south Louisiana and made their 
living in the fishing, shrimping and oyster industry. Mr. Cvitanovich's 
restaurant became popular for the quality of its seafood.
  In 1995, Mr. Cvitanovich served as the king of Metairie's Argus 
parade on Mardi Gras. In 2013, Drago and Klara Cvitanovich were 
inducted into the Louisiana Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. In 
2014, Drago and Klara Cvitanovich received the Ella Brennan Lifetime 
Achievement Award from the New Orleans Wine and Food Experience. The 
Louisiana Hospitality Foundation also created an award honoring his 
legacy, the Drago Cvitanovich Award for Outstanding Philanthropy by an 
Entrepreneur.
  Mr. Cvitanovich's wife preceded him in death. His survivors include 
his two sons Tommy and Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich and eight grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Drago 
Cvitanovich, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather.

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