Restauranteur Billy Grise essentially grew up in an Italian eatery. His great-grandfather, Carmelo Caserta, immigrated to Piqua, Ohio, from Sicily in the early 1900s. In 1915, he opened his namesake tavern and grocery store, Caserta’s, which served traditional and family-style Italian cuisine.

It was in his great-grandfather’s restaurant that Grise learned the ins and outs of the hospitality business.“I worked there,” Grise said. “It was also where I went before school started. It’s where I went after school started. I had a single mom, so that became my everyday daycare. I grew up in a restaurant.”