Verducci's owner brings relaxed pizza, Italian option to South Pasadena
Vincent "Vinny" Fortunato has a knack for opening restaurants. Fortunato moved to the U.S. from Italy in 1974 at age 17. Two years later, after saving up $10,000, he launched his first Italian eatery near Aberdeen Proving Ground, an Army post outside of Baltimore. In four decades, he's opened (and sold) a total of 63 restaurants in both Maryland an...
Carrico’s Pizza
Italian brothers from Oakland, Tennessee, John and Charlie Harrell, had a cheesy idea to start a business in the Hub City. “I told my brother to keep all your recipes in your back pocket for later and finally, we said, ‘alright let’s make our own pizza business,'” said John. Since late October, the Harrell brothers have owned and operated Carrico’s...
Italian restaurant vets Andrea & Frank Randazzo launch online catering service
Frank and Andrea Randazzo are really busy people. For real. Most people who have kids, activities and full time jobs couldn’t imagine putting together fresh, homecooked meals on a regular basis. That’s where these two come in. The culinary vets who ran Talula together in Miami Beach from 2003 to 2010, have gone digital. Their company is called is R...
La Trattoria pizzeria debuts in downtown Naples
A new Italian pizzeria and restaurant debuted Friday in the Fifth Avenue South space occupied briefly by Kitchen and for many years by Mangrove Cafe. The partners for the new dinner-only La Trattoria in Naples are Luca Di Falco, who also is managing partner of Bice and Caffe Milano on Fifth Avenue South; Massimiliano Tonni, former manager of Caffe...
Livin’ la vida locavore: Stasio’s Italian Deli
I have a confession. I’m obsessed with anything and everything Italian, to the point where I’ve secretly wished my family was from Italy just to justify my obsession. I adore the hyper-local attention on ingredients, customs, boisterous gatherings with mounds of food, the language. Some people are Francophiles, others Anglophiles. But me, I’m an It...
Make New Year’s dinner, Italian style with these recipes
New Year’s Eve traditions may vary around the world, but there sure are a lot of similarities. When Gianni Betti, front-of-the-house manager and co-owner of Cibo e Beve Italian Restaurant, talks about New Year’s Eve celebrations in his childhood in Florence, Italy, he reminisces about meals filled with friends and family and rich dishes to herald a...
Nino's Italian Restaurant in Fort Myers in flux after fire, death of longtime partner
Nino’s Italian Restaurant in south Fort Myers has been closed since a fire occurred in the kitchen in early July. The restaurant's future is now in further question following the death of longtime owner and partner Graziano Buccini on Thanksgiving night. "I'm not sure what's going to happen," Buccini's sister Anna Scaduto said. Scaduto opened the...
Fazoli’s Closes Record Year With The Signing Of A Five-Unit Deal To Continue Growth Momentum Into 2019
Fazoli’s, America’s only elevated QSR Italian chain, announced today the signing of a multi-unit deal with new franchisees, Impact Hospitality Group. In addition to acquiring two existing locations in Columbia, South Carolina, the group also has plans to develop five additional restaurants in and around the Columbia area over the next few years, wi...
Bread a universal language for UNESCO designees
From baguettes to pitas, tortillas to Chinese mantou, bread boasts a long history of providing more than physical sustenance. To break bread together is to form connections that transcend cultural and linguistic boundaries, said Giuseppe Biagini, founder of the International Traditional Knowledge Institute. That made the Italian native's stop at a...
Johnny Brusco’s: Food & Fun for Family and Friends
Occasionally, our friend the Carnivore will invite us all out to eat for no other reason than to enjoy his evening meal surrounded by friends. Needless to say, the dine-around bunch have never turned him down, especially when our get-together is celebrated at Johnson City’s Johnny Brusco’s New York Style. Though part of a corporate restaurant chain...
Luigi's opens in Madisonville
Madisonville locals can now add authentic Italian eatery to their restaurant repertoire with the opening of Luigi’s Italian Grill on East Main Street this week. The new location will be focused on the old family recipes and dynamics that have made the Luigi’s name successful in the past. Antonio Haxhiraj, who will run the Madisonville location, is...
Sicilian roots grow into quaint Italian walk-up in Riverview
Jennifer Rhoades wanted to stay true to her Sicilian roots when she recently opened her first certified kitchen – authentic food, family and fun.DiMisa Gourmet Sicily + Dolci is a quaint, walk-up window at 8205 U.S. 301 that offers Italian fare inspired by her grandmother Josephine DiMisa and her father Joseph DiMisa. It also builds on her five yea...