Though Vinny LaFranca and Sal Faenza grew up on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean nearly 5,000 miles apart, they shared two unique things in common – a love of great Italian food and a strong work ethic. Sicily native LaFranca, 50, moved to Brooklyn with his family when he was 12, working at a salumeria (pork shop) at 13 and managing a deli in Bensonhurst by the time he was 16.

For Brooklyn-born Faenza, also 50, now a resident of Freehold, “my father owned a neighborhood store in the 1970s and 1980s that offered a little bit of everything, including some specialty Italian items, and I worked there ever since I was a kid,” he said. Though Faenza worked on Wall Street for a short time after college, the lure of the food industry ultimately called him back.