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Today, I want to tell you a story about an immigrant who came to Brooklyn at the age of 17 not knowing anyone in this country. He was a professional hairdresser who, coincidentally, met one of my sisters doing her hair. My family got to know him and took him in as one of the family. We all grew up together in the neighborhood and he later decided he wanted to retire from hairdressing. I took him to work with me and got him a job building ovens for Garland Commercial Industries. At first he thought it was fun, but several weeks later he grew tired of this job and said he could make more money as a hairdresser. Of course, he was right. He really didn’t want to be a hairdresser and decided not to do it and went ahead and opened a restaurant in Long Island, NY. He was very reticent and dapper. He named the restaurant Renzo Italian Restaurant. His real name is Enzo Sciortino. Even though he initially did not know the food industry, he was very successful. So he opened several more restaurants in Long Island but wasn’t happy because he wanted more challenging opportunities. He opened his own distributing company Dora Foods in NY importing specialty foods from Italy.
Many years later he sold the distributing company and again, unsettled, he became the main cheese broker for F&A Cheese for the whole state of Florida, which was a big step considering his short time in the country. He still has this position today. Not content enough with his achievements, he still wanted to own the best restaurant in Florida, so he opened “Renzo’s” of Boca Raton, Florida, which now happens to be one of the best in the area. I suggest you go there and see Enzo greeting people with a glass of wine. He’s a very generous person.
Enzo is married to a lovely lady named Rosaria Sciortino and has three beautiful daughters, Beatricia, Susana and Sabrina, whom are all married with children. Enzo decided to open pizzerias for his daughters in the area. The names are Renzo Café West and Renzo Café East, with more coming.
Whenever I am in the Boca area, this is the first stop I make to enjoy really good food, as well as other people. Whenever you are there you never know which celebrities you will meet. And mention that Chef Bruno sent you…but he’ll probably charge you more for that!!!
My point is that no matter who you are, or what your background is, America is a land of opportunity. And the restaurant business can be a very rewarding experience, both personally and financially, but you have to be passionate about what it is you do. Like Enzo, if you are involved with something and aren’t satisfied and fulfilled, don’t be afraid to take a risk and do something else. When he left Italy as a hairdresser he never thought he would end up building food equipment, running a distributing company, working for a cheese company or owning a restaurant, but through trial and error and not ‘settling’ into a job that didn’t satisfy him just because it paid good, he found his place and became an American success story in the land of opportunity. God bless this great country of ours.
Ciao!
Chef Bruno