Restaurant Ownership and the World’s Best Pizza

On many occasions I’ve thought about owning a restaurant. As I discussed yesterday in the Business segment, owning a restaurant requires a ton of hard work. You have to prepared to sacrifice your evenings, nights, mornings, weekends…you name it.

A ton of. Un montón de

What is it that’s so appealing about owning a restaurant? Designing the menu, creating a fun atmosphere, working for yourself and watching people enjoy the food you serve are just a few things that come to mind. The first successful restaurant owner I met was a man named Joe Aurelio. In 1959 he opened a little takeout pizza joint in Homewood, Illinois, my hometown. Today, it’s still the best pizza I’ve ever eaten. As Joe’s business grew, he needed more space, so he opened a new restaurant. It was located in an old warehouse that he had remodeled, turning it into a multi-level pizzeria - the largest in the world. It had a cozy and friendly atmosphere. There were stairways that led to dimly-lit corners where families and friends dined on the tastiest pizza anywhere to be found. Sometimes, Joe Aurelio himself would go from table to table to say hello and to see if everyone was enjoying their meal.

Warehouse. Almacén
Cozy. Acogedor

How many restaurants fail within their first year? About 1 in 4. More than the food itself, experts cite having experience in the restaurant business and a well-defined concept as the keys to operating a successful restaurant. They say about 50% of all Americans have worked in a restaurant at some point in their lives, but cooking food in the kitchen or taking orders as a waiter is only part of gaining the experience required.

Back in 1977, when Joe Aurelio took a gamble and bought that 1,120 square meter warehouse, his restaurant concept and experience were firmly in place: he had been applying his innovative approach to making pizza for almost two decades.

To take a gamble. Arriesgarse

So, if you want to operate a successful restaurant, be sure to have a well-defined concept, experience in the field and be prepared to sacrifice a lot of your time. And if you’re ever in the Chicagoland area, be sure to have a slice of Aurelio’s pizza. http://www.aureliospizza.com/

As their slogan says, “Tell ‘em ‘Joe sent me.’”.

Chicagoland. La ciudad de Chicago y sus alrededores.
Slice. Trozo, porción.

Published by: Drew Crosby