Dedicating his time to helping his parents with their family-owned restaurant, a place he’s been surrounded by his entire life, sophomore Santino Giovannetti began working at Primo Italia in March 2024. His interest in the restaurant industry grew through constant exposure to the business. Helping cook after football practice, Giovannetti’s days have become busy as he works with different people and gains experience that will help him in the future.
Giovannetti’s love for the restaurant industry started at a young age, being practically raised in his father’s business, and wanting to join since he was little. He would watch his older brother help out their parents and embrace the work culture. However, once Giovannetti reached the legal age to be able to cook in a restaurant, he immediately joined the business, his first task being to cook pizza for those dining.
“I have an older brother, we’re five and a half years apart, he went to Redondo, and he started working freshman year as well. He was an expo, which is taking the food out. I was too young to work, I just remember the stages that he went through, and the plan was always for me to work there. But when I was ten or eleven I started to cook more, like I always loved barbecuing. My dad and my mom were like, ‘Oh, you should learn how to make pizzas.’ And that was something I was really interested in that I would love to either do for a living or get really good at,” Santino Giovannetti said.
The love Giovannetti has for the restaurant business is a result of being surrounded by a family and a community that connected through their love of cooking. This exposure to new people made him learn more about collaborating in the restaurant environment. Learning how to collaborate with others in the kitchen, Giovannetti alludes to his future in the restaurant business. The whole staff has built a connection through small acts which allow them to work with ease in a busy environment. Getting to work with people from diverse backgrounds, Giovannetti admires the staff’s hard-working qualities.
“Our whole kitchen staff is from a small town in Mexico. Most of them don’t fully speak English, so I’ve learned a lot of Spanish. There’s a lot of communication we have to know. So anytime you go behind someone, you say, entras, because you don’t want to mess anything up. It’s an interesting experience, because I’m learning so much from them, but they’re also learning a lot from me,” Santino Giovannetti said.
Reflecting on the unique dynamics within their kitchen, Santino Giovannetti highlights the cultural exchange that takes place every day. With a staff from a small town in Mexico, he has not only picked up a lot of Spanish but has also adapted to the customs of kitchen communication to ensure smooth operations. This daily collaboration allows a mutual exchange of skills and stories, helping both sides.
“Our chef Santi, we’ve talked so much about his backstory and how he came to be a chef, and it’s really cool to see the different backgrounds that they’ve come from, and also to see how appreciative they are that they’re able to work every day, and that’s what I’ve realized. The work ethic from our whole staff at Primo is unbelievable, and that’s what I’ve admired and tried to learn from them,” Santino Giovannetti said.
Thinking about his favorite moment from his restaurant so far, Lou Giovannetti reflects on how Primo Italia helped people in need during COVID.
“During COVID, you know, it was hard for everybody, and now that COVID is over, I’m very proud of the community and the neighborhood that we’ve built because a lot of people, we helped a lot of people during COVID by feeding them, hospitals, police forces, different places, and when we reopened. It was pretty amazing. How many people came back and said thank you,” Lou Giovannetti said. “Now we just have a great, thriving, wonderful business.”
Seeing how far he has come from his days on Broadway, Giovannetti expresses how grateful he was to have great opportunities that allowed him to pursue his true passion. By exhibiting an enjoyable atmosphere, he speaks about his restaurant’s culture and encourages people to go to Primo Italia for a good time because of its Italian cuisine and the environment.
“I used to be a Broadway actor and singer, and I always worked in restaurants when I was not doing what I wanted to do. So when I moved out here from New York City, I had an opportunity, because I always invested in restaurants, and I found a spot and opened a restaurant,” Lou Giovannetti said.
Reflecting on his journey, Lou Giovannetti spoke about how his passion for performing arts and his experience in the restaurant industry intersected in an unexpected way. When he moved away from New York City, he saw an opportunity to channel his love for hospitality and culinary arts into a new venture. By combining his interest in entertainment with his dedication to quality dining, he created Primo Italia.
“It is an Italian restaurant with what we call heritage-based Italian cuisine, all the best ingredients, the best sustainable fishes and meats and pastas and flowers,” Lou Giovannetti said. “We bake our own bread. We do everything ourselves. We have a full bar, and we have a lot of fun. We have music, my friends come and sing and play the piano and have a good time.”