Much to her surprise, she got her just desserts.

Rose De Santis spent Tuesday afternoon in the kitchen of her Wilmington restaurant, preparing tiramisu, a creamy Italian cake whose name, in English, means “lift me up.” De Santis intended to serve the dessert, along with champagne, at a surprise party scheduled for that evening by a group of Wilmington residents, many of whom she knew.

What De Santis didn’t know was that the surprise was for her.

The party was arranged for De Santis by Simie Seaman, president of the Banning Neighborhood Assn., as “a special thank-you for having this fabulous restaurant in our community.”

Now that may sound a bit odd. After all, there are plenty of Italian restaurants in the South Bay, and you don’t see homeowners groups running around thanking the owners of each one.

But this is Wilmington. And this isn’t just any Italian restaurant.

In a community dominated by industry and saddled with a reputation for crime, De Santis has built an anomaly. The De Santis Ristorante at 707 W. Anaheim St., sandwiched between an auto parts shop and a furniture store, has crystal chandeliers and stemware, fine china, elegant table linens, tuxedo-clad waiters and northern Italian cuisine that patrons say is excellent. There is certainly nothing else like it in Wilmington.

But as De Santis will tell you, getting there wasn’t easy.

First, there was the problem of the beverage license. De Santis wanted to serve beer and wine with her meals, but the Los Angeles Police Department protested her license application, saying there were already too many licenses in the area. Her grand opening, scheduled for May, was put on indefinite hold. But the community took up De Santis’ cause, and the LAPD eventually backed down.

With the license in hand, De Santis began planning another grand opening, this one for late summer. But that was delayed when city inspectors told her she needed two bathrooms equipped for the handicapped. The women’s room was equipped, but the men’s, De Santis said, was too small to handle a wheelchair. Building and safety officials ultimately granted her a waiver, and she opened her doors in early August.

Since then, residents have been noticing subtle changes in the neighborhood. People from Palos Verdes and Long Beach--some, not all--aren’t afraid to come to Wilmington anymore. The furniture shop next door has spruced up its image with an attractive new window display. Business at the De Santis Ristorante is brisk, and De Santis is already talking of building an addition.

And so, the neighbors got together Tuesday night to lift their champagne flutes and present a framed proclamation to De Santis, who did something nice for Wilmington.