My Restaurant Dream: From Busboy to Investor
Ciao Everyone!
Today, I'm writing about the world of starting and running a restaurant. Everyone has a dream, and I'm no exception.
When I was in high school and college, I worked at many restaurants owned by family and friends. I enjoyed it so much that I'd lend myself out to anyone just to work and learn about different styles of food and management.
I started as a busboy, as many do, and rose through the ranks to Maître d’. I even met now-celebrity chefs who were just starting out on their culinary journeys. I worked alongside Tony Bourdain in Cape Cod before he was anywhere close to becoming the celebrity he would be years later.
But I had a dream to own and operate my own restaurant one day, and I already had the name: DelPaggio's Cucina, in honor of my grandparents who taught me everything I knew.
Well, here we are now, years later, and that dream never came to fruition. However, I write here on DelPaggio's Cucina as if it were my restaurant, sharing the recipes I would have wanted to create and serve to customers.
This background leads me to share two stories of successful restaurants I was involved in as an investor. I was running my hedge fund, International Investment Group Ltd., when two friends with different ideas approached me for investment money.
They were both college friends who knew I had always wanted to open a restaurant of my own but chose a different path. I guess they figured I'd be interested in helping them out, which I was, and did.
One asked for $25,000, the other for $100,000. It's funny how this worked out because the friend who asked for $25,000 ultimately had the more successful restaurant, based on a simple idea.
A little more background: this happened in the early '80s when things were buzzing in New York City and around the globe. We were making a ton of investments, some legal and others not so legal, like insider trading and such. Either way, I was ready to invest.
The Soup Kitchen Success
My first friend opened a simple kitchen near Columbia University. His idea, which led to his success, was ideal: he served soup. Just Italian Chicken Soup. They didn't get the idea for the "Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld from him, but if you visited this place, you would have thought so!
He figured the kids would want something healthy and good after school days and late-night partying, and he was right. He paid me back in six months; I was in shock. For under five bucks at the time of opening, you'd get a bowl of soup with a hunk of fresh Italian bread and a spoon. He would grate cheese if you wanted it, but the main thing was you bought your soup and then you had to get out; there was no room to sit or even stand on crowded nights.
To make a long story short, over the years, he added more soups on certain days of the week. On weekends, he would travel to the beaches of New York to bring hot soups to surfers and beachgoers. He had a market all to himself. So much so that over the years, his soup kitchen paid for two kids to go through med school, as well as two through law school. Amazing success!
He finally retired a few years ago and gave it all to his grandkids, who to this day keep it going.
The Finger Food Experience
My other friend opened a more interesting restaurant. It was all about finger foods and atmosphere.
At the time, New York was always ready for something different, and this was how he got his idea: a simple menu with good, healthy food and an atmosphere that made you want to come back.
Each diner had their own little section of the restaurant where they would sit on pillows arranged on carpet for comfort. Chairs were available, but that took away from the fun and intimacy of the restaurant.
Once you sat down, they would bring over a tiny BBQ oven to fry your meats, seafood, and veggies. You could scour the menu to find the perfect combination you were looking for that evening. Your guests also got to choose what they wanted, and then the fun would begin.
His success was nominal, but still good, based on his vision. However, new things that are a little out of the ordinary seem to die too quickly.
He did pay me back some of the investment, but I just couldn't bring myself to ask for the rest. So on Christmas Day, the day he closed, I forgave the rest of the loan as a sort of Christmas gift. He deserved it.
The Point
The point of these two stories is to follow your dream. Sometimes they live forever, and other times they don't, but it's that you tried.
I didn't, and I have regrets, which I don't always have about past things. But not living up to the idea of honoring my grandparents has always held a spot in my psyche.
But things have a way of working out. I now have this newsletter to share the recipes I would have offered and stories of others I know who have found success and others who haven't flourished as some.
Do you have any experiences where a dream didn't quite pan out, but led you to something unexpected and fulfilling?
If so write us and tell us about it. We would love to share it with our readers with your permission of course.
Be Well!
Buon Appetito!
Mark & Patti