Seeing the Godfather...
Sat/September/2007 09:10 PM Filed in: restauranteur
| history
Don't miss this post...
The
following post is made with NOTHING but respect, and
to give those that come after me a taste, of what
being a true restaurant / food person is all about...
Since coming to Bethesda oh some 34 years ago, I have had the pleasure of knowing some, and the displeasure of knowing some.. but since joining the restaurant industry in 1987, I have had the pleasure of a specific few who have helped guide me and build what knowledge I have about "the business"...
The subject of my post today is about one man, Luigi Traetino and his adoring, talented wife, Angela who are the founders and operators of Positano Restaurant in Bethesda (www.epositano.com). These two embody the essence (which is unfortunately lost nowadays) of service and hostpitality, and graciousness. Maybe that's the reason his restauant empire has grown in Bethesda to include restaurant seating for up to 600 people? I'll tell you a quick few stories today about how this team (probably unbeknownst to them) guided me and inspired me to always remember a few simple rules about the restaurant business.
You see, I worked for Positanos about 18 years ago in my early part of my career as a waiter. At this point, Positanos was about 100 seats and had a kitchen as big as most kitchens in the Bethesda "mini-mansions" of today (i.e. SMALL!) Now, consider too that this was in the day of a paper pad and pencil, a calculator, and a smile. No Micros P.O.S. systems (yes, we'll have one at Visions), no email , no Corporate Mandated "Guest Surveys" etc... These two drove their restaurant with good old fashioned Italian charm, great food, simple curteous service and most importantly an honest straightforward mentality of running their establishment. These folks stopped by tables all day long (read in corporate speak "mandatory table visits"?) and made sure that whatever the case, good or bad, that guests left happy and ready to return in the future... Can
Stay tuned for more of the same...
Since coming to Bethesda oh some 34 years ago, I have had the pleasure of knowing some, and the displeasure of knowing some.. but since joining the restaurant industry in 1987, I have had the pleasure of a specific few who have helped guide me and build what knowledge I have about "the business"...
The subject of my post today is about one man, Luigi Traetino and his adoring, talented wife, Angela who are the founders and operators of Positano Restaurant in Bethesda (www.epositano.com). These two embody the essence (which is unfortunately lost nowadays) of service and hostpitality, and graciousness. Maybe that's the reason his restauant empire has grown in Bethesda to include restaurant seating for up to 600 people? I'll tell you a quick few stories today about how this team (probably unbeknownst to them) guided me and inspired me to always remember a few simple rules about the restaurant business.
You see, I worked for Positanos about 18 years ago in my early part of my career as a waiter. At this point, Positanos was about 100 seats and had a kitchen as big as most kitchens in the Bethesda "mini-mansions" of today (i.e. SMALL!) Now, consider too that this was in the day of a paper pad and pencil, a calculator, and a smile. No Micros P.O.S. systems (yes, we'll have one at Visions), no email , no Corporate Mandated "Guest Surveys" etc... These two drove their restaurant with good old fashioned Italian charm, great food, simple curteous service and most importantly an honest straightforward mentality of running their establishment. These folks stopped by tables all day long (read in corporate speak "mandatory table visits"?) and made sure that whatever the case, good or bad, that guests left happy and ready to return in the future... Can
Stay tuned for more of the same...