Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
The man cranks out restaurants like Ellen DeGeneres cranks out jokes, and with an equally good sense of timing. Three years ago, Michael Del Pietro created the high-value Sugo’s Spaghetteria at a time when wallets were full of singles and landlords were full of woe. At press time, Del Pietro was set to have opened six restaurants in three years (most recently Tavolo V in the East Loop), so he’s earned monikers like entrepreneur, über-restaurateur, and juggernaut—yet he still finds time to jog every day and take his sons to school, often on their bicycles. He put down his kickstand long enough to share some wisdom with us.
Where did you work before Sugo’s?
Luciano’s. Before that, Shiitake, Kilkenney’s, Portabella, Michael’s in Chesterfield, and Del Pietro’s—all family restaurants. We were all over the board.
But you began your restaurant career by washing dishes.
If your parents owned a restaurant, chances are you did, too. My brother Marc and both my sisters had to work a shift at Del Pietro's every weekend, from when we were 13 all through high school.
Any memorable stories from the Del Pietro's days?
One day my dad asked me to slice 30 pounds of mushrooms, which is lot because they don't weigh anything. My fingers were numb after 20, so I stopped. When we ran out that night my father said, "you didn't cut 30 pounds, did you?" I said I thought 20 would be enough. He told me not to think so much.
Hey, 30 means 30.
My parents were far more strict with us than with the rest of the employees, the opposite of what you might think. The other employees felt sorry for us.
The closing of Del Pietro's last summer had to be bittersweet.
We grew up at that place. Shared a lot of our family meals there. But my mom had worked every night for 35 years...until closing time. I was happy to finally see her quit all that.
How's she handling retirement?
It was hard at first. But she has more time for her grandkids, plus there are plenty of family restaurants where she can hang out if she wants.
What did you learn from your parents?
My work ethic. When they began, my mom waited tables and washed every single napkin; my dad bartended and waited tables. I learned that you do it all. And stay flexible. The moment my father would thoughtfully and painstakingly make a decision, he'd have to change it the next week.
Would that other restaurateurs held that same philosophy.
It's no big revelation to say that you have to move with the times, yet many restaurants here don't. There's a lot of dinosaurs in this town.
In what ways has Italian cooking changed? Classic is, well, classic, right?
It's not as popular as it once was. I guarantee that restaurants that think it is are not that busy anymore.
So, piccata's and marsala's are on the wane?
Correct. You don't see multiples of the same type dish on menus the way you used to. Now it's more herb-infused olive oil based sauces that pair better with today's lighter and fresher ingredients.
What's the deal with all the cheese on Italian menus here. Is that a local thing?
I really don't know...it's not an Italian thing. If cheese does get folded in, it's usually ricotta, not provolone and certainly not provel.
Is it still a safe bet to open a bar, serve simple food, and tailor the vibe to a younger audience, like your family does at Kilkenney's in Clayton?
It makes sense provided you are young, too. I'm 44 and my brother is 42, which is young enough, but not if you have to close a bar every night.
What will become of Luciano's after that destructive water pipe break?
I do not think Luciano's will reopen, at least by us. For us, that corner looked better on paper than in real life. Our lease is up at the end of April, so both my brother (Marc) and me are looking in other directions.
Like Edwardsville...
Yes. Both of us may do something there, different things, and other locations as well.
Why was Sugo’s the concept that caught fire?
It was the food we grew up eating, so it was very easy for me to implement. Just as importantly, it was value-priced.
I like the hostess stand that doubles as a wine bar.
If you see the wine, you want the wine. And when we first opened, we were starved for space, so hostesses pouring wine was really born of necessity. I credit my wife with that idea. We now do that at all locations, no matter how much space we have.
And the giant blackboard wall…
That was a reaction. All the expensive things I was tired of doing—like menus, tablecloths, valet parking, taking reservations—I just decided not to do.
No regrets?
No. I may never do any of those things again. My streamlined system works well, and the dinner wait goes quickly.
Didn't you build Via Vino next Sugo's so that their customers would have somewhere to wait?
The reason was that space became available and I didn't want competition literally next door. I wanted Via Vino to attract the Sugo's customer on a different night—-on date night, as opposed to kid's night. Via Vino also serves hard liquor; Sugo's does not.
The lasagna at Sugo’s contains a fistful of meat and sells for $10. How important is having a loss leader like that?
You know, it’s really not underpriced. I just want you guys to write about it, people to talk about it, to come back for it, and to think of Sugo’s when they have the leftovers the next day.
Does sister restaurant Babbo’s Spaghetteria have the same deal?
Every restaurant I ever open will have the same deal. I’ve used that item to build a business, and so far it’s worked. It fits what we do.
What advice do you have for a restaurateur contemplating a second location?
Every one’s a gamble. Fortunately, I went to hotel/restaurant school at UNLV and I learned how to gamble. I’ve opened up a bunch of restaurants in a short time, but that pace might not continue. The favorable real-estate window may soon close, and when it does, I may be finished opening up restaurants.
Will you expand to other cities before that happens?
There’s a Babbo’s in Columbia, Mo.; Sugo’s in Edwardsville, Ill., and in Overland Park, Kan., will open soon, and one more in KC. And we are seriously looking at Denver and Omaha.
Why those cities?
Because they’re not St. Louis, Philly, or Chicago, with an Italian restaurant on every corner. So I’ll either be a genius or find out the reason that I’m not.
Isn't it a problem when you're an absentee restaurant owner?
It can be. My original GM from Sugo's will move to KC to run that store. That's about all you can do. It's exciting, it's scary and stressful, it's fun, but luckily it has all worked out so far.
Pizza can be a high-profit business. Is that why you opened Pazzo's?
Not necessarily. But we lessened the risk by adding several popular items from Sugo's. Pazzo's is still very much pizza-driven, though, with hand-tossed and rolled-out dough, whole milk mozz, and different cheeses, like gorgonzola and fresh mozz.
Do the more adventuresome pizzas sell at Pazzo's?
Sure. Compare the standard sausage/pepp pizza to one made with roasted artichokes, lemon, and goat cheese. Our biggest seller is a veggie pizza called the Tavolo--because Tavolo's is a veggie-focused restaurant--with roasted garlic, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, with both mozz and goat cheese.
What’s different about Tavolo V?
Vegetable-driven items like a zucchini carpaccio, the mushroom pasta from Sugo’s, the asparagus-and-portabella appetizer from Portabella, and a spinach soufflé patty from Del Pietro’s, which sounds odd, but is delicious.
And there's an indoor herb garden...
It's on pulleys, under a huge skylight that was there before us.
And music will be center stage, too, correct?
There is a DJ booth above the bar, so the vibe will definitely change as the evening progresses.
What do you do to de-stress?
I run every morning, inside or out. No distractions, no music, no TV, it's meditation time for me. Clears my head. I also enjoy playing chess with my son.
Where do you take your kids to eat?
The whole family loves Mai Lee, but my kids could never pronounce the cuisine. They called it “Vietmanese.” Or we go to Pueblo Solis; they have no trouble with "Mexican."
You have the advantage of having a very special business partner.
[THF Realty president] Mike Staenberg is one of the sharpest people I’ve ever met. We both have something the other guy doesn’t have. I bankrolled the St. Louis projects, but Mr. Staenberg made it possible to push forward and out of St. Louis.
Major players can make things happen quickly.
He can accomplish in two phone calls what would take me months; a six-week process takes him six minutes. It takes a month of pestering for me to get a phone call returned.
When’s it all gonna end?
When it ceases to be fun. The Sugo’s formula works because of quality and pricing. Give me a full house with slightly lower margins any day. I’m just glad if I make money! I mean that. Seven, eight percent? Let’s go. Let’s do another one.
