• 5 months ago
Interview with Fresco by Scotto co-owners Rosanna Scotto and Jenna Ruggiero about their family business, how to use social media, and their philanthropic efforts.

Rosanna Scotto and Jenna Ruggerio have learned a secret to running a successful family restaurant business — teamwork.

Rosanna Scotto, best known for her Emmy-winning presence as co-anchor on Good Day New York and WNYW-Fox 5, and her daughter, Jenna Ruggerio are co-owners of Fresco by Scott in New York City.

A family business and New York staple, Marion Scotto, affectionately known as "Mama Scotto", sparked their initial ambition to carve out a culinary haven amidst the ever-competitive NYC restaurant scene.

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Transcript
00:00Welcome to Restaurant Influencers, presented by Entrepreneur.
00:08I am your host, Sean Walchef.
00:11This is a Cali BBQ Media production.
00:14In life, in the restaurant business, and in the new creator economy, we learn through
00:19lessons and stories.
00:21I can't tell you how excited I am for today's episode.
00:23I'm so grateful to Toast, who is our primary technology partner, for believing in this
00:29show.
00:30We have our barbecue restaurants in San Diego, and I came to them with this crazy idea to
00:34turn our barbecue business into a media business, create a show where we can have the best storytellers
00:39on earth, the best people in hospitality on earth, come into the show and share their
00:44secrets.
00:45Today, I have an amazing family.
00:47If you do not know Fresco Biscotto, you will know about them after this show.
00:52If you go to New York, this is the restaurant to be.
00:5530 years they have been in business.
00:59I have Rosanna Scotto and Jenna Ruggiero.
01:02Welcome to the show.
01:03Thank you so much, Sean.
01:04We're honored to be on your show, and congratulations.
01:09Thank you so much.
01:11I'll begin this by letting you know that we have a barbecue business in San Diego.
01:17We've been here for 16 years, and there got to a point where I was worried that we weren't
01:22getting any media coverage.
01:25Lo and behold, 16 years later, now we have our own media company, and I get to interview
01:29someone like you that I have so much respect for.
01:34We're going to get into it.
01:35I'm going to start with our...
01:37Go ahead.
01:38I just want to say something.
01:39I'm a little uncomfortable that you've turned the tables on me today, and I am going to
01:44try to deal with it as best as I can.
01:47I may take over and start asking you questions.
01:49I hope you're okay with that.
01:51I would expect nothing less.
01:53This is a conversation, and if you're new to the show, welcome.
01:57Our job and our goal is to think differently in the hospitality business.
02:00As we all know, restaurants are very hard to run, and we have the gift.
02:04We have the gift of the internet where I get to connect to amazing entrepreneurs that are
02:08running significant businesses, and you, the listener, you, the viewer, get a front row
02:13seat.
02:14You get a front row seat, and we're going to start with where in the world is your favorite
02:19stadium, stage, or venue?
02:22Okay.
02:23You want to lead it?
02:24I have an answer.
02:25Jen, you go first.
02:27But it's not hospitality related.
02:29No.
02:30Anything.
02:31Okay.
02:32Anything.
02:33Anything.
02:34So one of my favorite concert experiences ever was when my mom and I went to this festival
02:36in Hyde Park, and it was Hyde Park Summer Stage in London, and we saw Florence and the Machine
02:42perform there, and we just had an incredible night.
02:45It was sunset.
02:46The stage looked like giant trees in the middle of the park.
02:51It was pretty fantastic.
02:52Hyde Park.
02:53Beautiful.
02:54And for you?
02:55Well, there's so many, you know, living in New York City, we're so lucky because we get
02:59to see so many wonderful musical acts in New York from Sir Paul McCartney to Billy Joel.
03:06But last summer, my daughter and I took a road trip together.
03:09We went to Philly, and we saw Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks perform together, and that was
03:15so much fun.
03:16And we got backstage, we talked to Billy Joel, and it was amazing.
03:21That is so cool.
03:22Well, I don't know which one to pick, but we're going to pick one of them.
03:26How about we go to Hyde Park?
03:28Okay.
03:29We're going to set the stage, we're going to go to Hyde Park, we're going to invite
03:32hospitality professionals from all over the globe.
03:34I'll talk to Entrepreneur, I'll talk to Toast.
03:37But I'm going to bring you guys on center stage, and I'm going to give you the mic.
03:40And I'd like to preface it by bringing me back to your mother mortgaging the family
03:46home to start the restaurant.
03:49Can you bring me back to when that was and tell us the story?
03:56It was over 30 years ago, it was around 1993.
04:02The world was still a little shaky.
04:05The economy in New York was still fluctuating.
04:08We were coming out of a big economic dip.
04:12And my brothers were in LA, and my mother thought, wouldn't it be fun to get your brothers
04:17back to New York, and we'll open up a family restaurant.
04:20And I was always working in TV news.
04:23Jenna was just a little baby at that point.
04:27And we would take her, I'll get to that part.
04:31So we started looking around for restaurants in New York City.
04:34My brothers thought they would come back.
04:37And it was expensive.
04:39And my mother said, okay, it's not just your brother's place anymore.
04:42Now it's a family venture.
04:44This is going to be the family business.
04:46She mortgaged the house in Brooklyn.
04:50My father was on the fence about it.
04:52They were near retirement age.
04:55And all their friends were saying, are you crazy, restaurants, you know, can basically
04:59go out of business in a year.
05:01This is a time where you can kind of sit back and relax.
05:04My mom was adamant.
05:06We went to a clairvoyant who told her, this is really funny.
05:13She went to a clairvoyant, I was there with her, who told her, you should absolutely do
05:18this.
05:19You're going to have presidents, royalty, celebrities, it's going to be a success.
05:23And so my mother totally bought into it.
05:26And we had presidents, celebrities, royalty.
05:32Oh, my goodness.
05:34And everybody from Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and anybody around the world that
05:39comes to New York and wants a great Italian American meal.
05:43That is amazing.
05:45What a way to set the stage.
05:46I mean, you're the restaurant, when I was doing the research of who's who, who has been
05:51to your restaurant.
05:52I mean, it's more of who hasn't been to your restaurant.
05:55Right.
05:56Okay.
05:57Who hasn't?
05:58Who hasn't?
05:59Who do you want?
06:00Who do you want to add to the list?
06:01I would love to have Prince Harry come.
06:04Okay.
06:05Well, doesn't Jenna look like Meghan Markle a little bit?
06:10She does.
06:11She does.
06:12Maybe we can get Prince Harry to come.
06:13That would be amazing.
06:14I don't know if he'd like me.
06:15I don't know.
06:16Jenna, I'd love to ask, I grew up, so many of our listeners, restaurateurs, we grew up
06:23in the family business.
06:24I never thought I would be back in the restaurant business.
06:28When did you come back into the restaurant business?
06:31So when I was growing up, I used to hostess here during the summers.
06:35How old?
06:36How old?
06:37High school.
06:38High school.
06:39Okay.
06:40But my grandmother fired me because in the middle of a lunch rush, I got a little hungry.
06:47So I ran back to the kitchen and I asked the chef, can you make me a quick pasta?
06:50I thought I ate it very quickly.
06:52Came back to the host desk and my grandmother, meanwhile, was like, where's Jenna?
06:57Where's Jenna?
06:58So I had to hostess at the front to seat this like hundreds of people.
07:02So she asked me not to come back.
07:05So it wasn't until-
07:10Did you cry?
07:11How did you feel?
07:12No, I, you know, it was, I was young.
07:15I was young and I didn't predict.
07:18I went into the music industry after college.
07:21So I didn't predict that I would be back in hospitality.
07:24And then two years ago, my aunt asked me, they need to come back.
07:29They needed help.
07:30And since then it started passion for hospitality that I didn't know I had in me.
07:36That is amazing.
07:37Do you, do you remember your mother firing your daughter?
07:42I did.
07:43And I thought it was a great life lesson, you know, if you can learn a good firing from
07:49your family, everybody needs to be fired at least once.
07:53If you have a restaurant, it's a great business to do it.
07:58Can you share a little bit about opening the restaurant and being in the news?
08:02Sure.
08:03So when we first opened, as I mentioned, you know, economically, it was, you know, a crazy
08:08time in New York and there weren't a lot of restaurants opening up.
08:12In fact, when my mom got the keys from the landlord, he wasn't so sure about her.
08:18The restaurateur that had it before my mom was sitting in the meeting when the landlord
08:24handed the keys to my mother.
08:26And he basically said to the old restaurateur, if it doesn't work out for her, I'm giving
08:31you back the keys.
08:33This is how we started our business.
08:36So we had a lot of motivation to kind of show people that we could do it.
08:40So what we did was at that point, like my sister was in the fashion business.
08:46My mom was in Brooklyn politics.
08:48I was in the TV business.
08:50We all invited our friends for a lot of friends and family nights.
08:54It got the word out, got the word out so quickly that the New York Times food critic at the
09:02time was Ruth Rachel.
09:04She came in.
09:05We were open a week.
09:08She came in and she reviewed us.
09:10She gave us two stars, which at that point was like we were on the map.
09:17People were coming from everywhere.
09:18There were not a lot of restaurants opening at that time.
09:21The lines were out the door.
09:23And I remember my mother was very accommodating in those days.
09:27If you wanted a 730 reservation, she didn't want to say no to you.
09:32Come on in at 730.
09:34Well, 200 people at 730 is a problem.
09:38One night my sister got so nervous.
09:40She hyperventilated because there were so many people waiting to get in.
09:44We had to call an ambulance for my sister.
09:48Wow.
09:49But we learned, we learned very quickly about how to take reservations and not everybody
09:55can come at 730.
09:58Till the day she stopped taking reservations, Graham never said no.
10:02No matter what time, no matter what day.
10:05We could be closed.
10:06She still say come in.
10:07I would love to know how do you manage the reservations with the celebrities and politicians
10:12and friends that you have?
10:14Because there's got to be a public facing line.
10:17And then there's the text line like, hey, by the way, can you get me?
10:22Well, it's very funny because I kind of take after my mother.
10:28And this past Saturday night, we had a few hundred people.
10:31And I called Jenna like Saturday morning and I'm like, I need the front table for 11
10:37people.
10:38She's like, no.
10:39I'm like, I don't care what you say.
10:41You're just moving those people to another table.
10:43I need that table for 11 people.
10:46Somehow it all works out in the end.
10:49It does.
10:51That's magic.
10:52And how, how now, Jenna, that you have come along and built systems.
10:59I mean, we talk a lot about technology.
11:01Obviously, Toast is a sponsor of the show and systems now that we have digitally to
11:06run our restaurant.
11:07Our restaurant, back when we opened, even when we opened in 2008, we didn't have half
11:12of the tools that we use now.
11:14Can you talk about some of the systems that you put in place?
11:16We use Resi for our reservations platform and we use Toast for our POS.
11:21Awesome.
11:22I didn't know that.
11:23Fantastic.
11:24Yeah.
11:25We love Toast here.
11:26We've integrated Resi with Toast, so now Resi updates according to the course that the diners
11:33are on.
11:34So it gives the front desk a better idea of, you know, when we'll get the table back.
11:39That's really cool.
11:40Can you share a little bit about the scene?
11:43Paint the picture of the restaurant because you guys have such a vibrant Instagram.
11:48My wife is from Bulgaria and when I go back to Bulgaria, one of the things that I love
11:53the most is the village restaurants where people dance.
11:58Like they eat, they dance, and they don't go anywhere.
12:01They spend their time there.
12:03And I think it's such a magical thing, what you guys have created.
12:06We'll put links to your Instagram in here, but can you share a little bit about what
12:11happens in the restaurant?
12:13Yeah.
12:14So during the week, it's different than our weekend crowd.
12:17During the week, it's a power lunch scene, power dinner scene, mostly corporate people.
12:23Some families, but they're in and out like this.
12:26We have high turnovers.
12:28And then Friday and Saturday night, since the pandemic, we've had a DJ come in Friday
12:34and Saturday night, and it turns into a dance party.
12:37So we try to turn tables, but people want to stay for the party all night.
12:44And they get wild.
12:46They get on the tables, they get on the chairs, everybody's having a good time.
12:51And it's fun.
12:53I just want to say one thing.
12:54We do not encourage standing on our chairs and our banquettes.
12:59So some lady with the biggest stilettos last weekend decided that she was getting on our
13:06banquette.
13:08She made so many damn holes that we had to call the upholsterer the next day.
13:13She cost us a lot of money to fix the banquette.
13:17Oh my goodness.
13:20Can you share about the decor, about the flowers, about the lemon tree, about the ambiance that
13:25you created?
13:26Yes.
13:27So what happened was, like many restaurants across the country, during the pandemic, we
13:31all had to close down.
13:33We got a chance to open up a few months after the pandemic.
13:37It must have been August or September of 2020.
13:42We reopened very modestly.
13:45Nobody wanted to come back.
13:46We were in midtown Manhattan.
13:48It was dead.
13:49There was nobody working in that area.
13:51And frankly, New York was not even there.
13:55People had head for the hills and Hudson Valley or they were in the Hamptons or they had gone
13:59to Florida.
14:00New York was empty.
14:02We wound up closing down December of 2020.
14:06And my sister and I really put our heads together and we said, we have really one more shot
14:12to reopen.
14:14That's all we had the money for.
14:15We had to make it good.
14:18And we, our friend Larry Scott of Lawrence Scott Events is a party planner, is event
14:24planner.
14:25And we went to him and said, we need magic.
14:28We need your magic.
14:29We need to transform this place into Italy.
14:32We want to feel like we were going to Capri without the hassle of getting on a plane and
14:39going to Europe right now.
14:41And so he, our backyard, our outdoor shed is magical.
14:47It's lemon trees and fresh flowers.
14:49And then we incorporated that into our dining room.
14:53So you feel the many, if you, yeah, can you see a little bit of it now?
14:57That's a big lemon tree.
14:58I love it.
15:00And what you can see is in the front of our, as soon as you walk into the door inside our
15:05restaurant, Larry just brought us the most gorgeous hydrangeas, like we're like an abundance
15:10of pink and purple and white hydrangeas.
15:13Our outdoors are lemon and hydrangeas.
15:17And I don't know flowers.
15:18I don't even know the names for, but they're everywhere and the staff has to water them
15:22every day.
15:23They're not happy, but when people come in, it sets the tone.
15:30It sets the tone of their meal and their experience.
15:34Flowers make people happy and we've created a little magic.
15:39Now a quick break from Restaurant Influencers to welcome our newest sponsor to the show.
15:45It's Zach Oates, the founder of Ovation.
15:47Ovation is helping restaurants to improve operations with the human touch.
15:52We are a guest experience platform for multi-unit restaurants like Friendly's, Muya, PDQ, Taziki's,
15:57and even Cali Barbecue with thousands of others that starts with a two question survey and
16:03drives revenue, location level improvement, and guest recovery.
16:06So here's how it works.
16:08The guest answers two questions.
16:10The first one is how was your experience?
16:11And then from there, happy guests are invited to do things that are going to drive revenue
16:16and unhappy guests share privately what went wrong so you and your team can resolve that
16:20concern in real time.
16:22Our AI will even help you do that.
16:24Then the magic happens.
16:25We take all the public reviews.
16:27We take all the Ovation feedback.
16:29We categorize it using our AI and give you detailed feedback in 34 restaurant specific
16:35categories to improve your operations.
16:37So we make sure that guests feel good, that you look good.
16:40And if you're interested in learning more, visit OvationUp.com forward slash Sean, because
16:44any listener of Sean's is a friend of Ovation's.
16:55It's beautiful.
16:56It's absolutely incredible.
16:57And you guys do such a great job online of, of showcasing that and, and really bringing
17:02somebody that is over here on the West coast in San Diego, it makes me feel like that I'm,
17:06that I'm part of it.
17:07And that's the magic of social media.
17:10Jenna, I would love to hear about your first time going on your mother's news channel to
17:17promote the restaurant.
17:19To promote the restaurant.
17:20Okay.
17:21I thought you were going to say ever because first time ever, let's, let's go, let's talk
17:26about ever.
17:27Sure.
17:28Go ahead.
17:29I would hide underneath her desk when she was doing the 10 o'clock news.
17:34And at the end, I'd pop up.
17:37And what would I do, mom?
17:38Just say hello.
17:39Hello.
17:40At the end when I'd say, and that's it for the 10 o'clock news, I was on a Scotto, then
17:44this little person would come out from underneath the desk.
17:50And then as far as Fresco goes, I don't know, throughout the years, when my family was on
17:55cooking shows, I'd help occasionally.
17:59And then it's such an easy vehicle for me to go on my mom's show and promote the restaurant.
18:04We'll make recipes.
18:06We're about to go on the Sherry Shepherd show next week.
18:10And it's fun.
18:12I'm just so fascinated that from Rosanna, from your perspective, as always interviewing
18:19the chef or interviewing the restaurateur, but then having your daughter come on and
18:25let it, letting her go, like, you know, I was looking at the most recent national meatball
18:29day where she shared the grandma's meatball recipe and to go from the host, but it's also
18:36your business.
18:37It's also, yeah.
18:38It's a slippery slope.
18:39It's a very interesting position to be in, but I enjoy it and I've been doing it for
18:46so long that it kind of feels natural.
18:50You know, in the beginning, some people would say, well, you need to say that that's your
18:54restaurant.
18:55But I know by now that that's my restaurant.
18:58It's 30 years.
18:59Like, how many times do I have to tell you?
19:02Yes.
19:03Can you share some tips for our audience?
19:07We have a lot of restaurateurs that listen.
19:09What tips do you have for people that do a really good job when they go on when they
19:13get a chance to go on local news or national news?
19:16OK, they they need to practice.
19:17And my daughter and I do this even, you know, we're going to prepare for Sherry's show.
19:22We'll talk about the recipe.
19:23But she'll basically say what I'll basically say.
19:28Keep it tight.
19:29Make it simple.
19:31You know, when you're when you're doing a recipe on TV, we can't see every step.
19:35Nobody's sitting at home with a paper and pen.
19:38They want to get the feeling.
19:39They want to know, you know, the finished product.
19:42They want to know that it's easy enough to do.
19:45So just make it simple.
19:46Three steps.
19:47Throw it in the pot.
19:48Cook it up.
19:50Finish plate.
19:51That's it.
19:53Who is your most memorable chef or restaurateur that's come on your show?
19:59We've had a lot of great people from Martha Stewart to Mario Carbone.
20:04And they're all different.
20:06And but they all have the they all have the same quality, which is they know how to tell
20:10a good story in a short amount of time.
20:14Good story in a short amount of time.
20:16That is key for for news for sure.
20:19Yeah.
20:21When you think about the family business, share a little bit about some of the challenges
20:26about about running a family, especially a restaurant.
20:29OK, so it's difficult to run a family business, right?
20:33Because you're with each other 24 seven vacation together, meals outside of the restaurant
20:40together.
20:41We would have times where we would say tonight is not a night to talk business because you
20:46can get into a food fight over how things are run, what someone didn't do or did do.
20:54So I mean, it's a lot of give and take.
20:56It's wonderful when you can share the highs with your family.
21:03And then it gets very stressful when you're in a bad situation when, you know, reservations
21:10are not coming in and you're second guessing yourself on why, you know, why things are
21:16not running as properly as you want them to be.
21:18But I will say I love it.
21:21I'm so happy I'm working with my daughter.
21:23We've only had about 10 fights since it's, you know.
21:26No, I think I think it's so easy working with you, mom.
21:30I would say we barely fought over it because sometimes you don't talk to me.
21:37I think it's great because my mom supports me in every decision I make.
21:41So when I need the firepower behind me, she brings the big guns.
21:46And I think it's easier just us to rather than having an extended family members involved.
21:55Right.
21:56At one point, there were more people involved in the restaurant.
21:59But who's moved here and there?
22:01And, you know, my mom who comes into the restaurant every day.
22:05She's now just enjoying the lunches and dinners and not putting her two cents in on how things
22:12are running.
22:13Yeah.
22:14So, Jenna, you you were an executive producer for an award winning show.
22:19Is that correct?
22:20Podcast?
22:21Wrongful conviction.
22:22Yeah.
22:23Yeah.
22:24Can you can you share a little bit with our audience?
22:25We're obviously huge fans of storytelling, and we believe that that every business has
22:29the opportunity now because of the Internet to to publish stories.
22:33But can you tell us a little bit about your experience as a producer at the time?
22:37I was working at Lava Records for the CEO, Jason Flom, and I was his director of creative
22:43operations.
22:44So anything outside of the record label, I was the point person.
22:48And Jason is obsessed with criminal justice reform, very involved with the Innocence Project
22:55and getting wrongfully convicted people out of prison.
22:58And so he wanted to give a voice to these people who have been locked up for decades
23:06in prison for crimes they didn't commit and broadcast it to as many people possible.
23:12So we started a podcast called Wrongful Conviction, and we would go to prisons, interview people
23:20who were currently incarcerated, as well as people who have gotten out with the help of
23:24the Innocence Project or organizations like them.
23:28And the people, every episode, they would blow me away.
23:34Their grace, their resilience.
23:38It was like mind blowing how they went through what they went through and still came out
23:45and not angry and just really admirable people.
23:50Was it also a video production or audio only?
23:53It was audio only.
23:55Have you ever been interested in doing video production?
23:58You and your mom?
23:59Are you trying to hire her?
24:02Oh, I'm trying to get you guys to do your own show.
24:05There should be a family show.
24:07Like you have all the talent you need.
24:10You have all the stories within the walls of your restaurant.
24:14You're right.
24:15We do a little Scotto Sisters live on Instagram, Mondays at 430.
24:24During COVID, we started doing it every day as a way to kind of connect with my family,
24:31and then it became a greater community.
24:34And now we continue it once a week on Mondays at 430 live on Instagram.
24:39Do you think there's any possibility?
24:40So it's audio-visual.
24:41Yeah.
24:42Do you think it's possible that you guys would have a show in the future?
24:46Family show?
24:47We're open.
24:48Yeah.
24:49Sean, you don't...
24:50You've got a production company.
24:51We do.
24:52Help us out.
24:53Help us just try it out.
24:55You guys would have a phenomenal show.
24:57Absolutely phenomenal show.
25:00Let's talk about the tough times, because it's easy to talk about the good times.
25:05Tell us about some of the challenges you face.
25:0730 years in business, I think it's so remarkable.
25:10It's so admirable.
25:12We've been in business for 16 years.
25:13It's coming up like in a week, it'll be 16 years for us.
25:16And we think that every day we're grateful.
25:19We're grateful to still be in the game and to still be playing.
25:23I'd love to hear about some of the tough times where you're kind of like, are we really doing
25:27this?
25:28Well, before COVID even hit, our numbers were down in the restaurant.
25:34We definitely took a downturn.
25:37For what reason?
25:38I'm not really sure, except, listen, New York is a very competitive place, and people like
25:45to try new restaurants.
25:46And so they may not come to us all the time.
25:50And we felt it.
25:51We really felt it.
25:52My parents were putting money back into the restaurant to keep it afloat, otherwise we
25:57would have gone out of business.
26:00And we were, I'm going to say that we all had a difference of opinion on how the restaurant
26:08should be operated.
26:11And since I have a day job, I work Good Day New York, I had the least amount of say.
26:21Even though I went to restaurants, I saw what other people were doing, I wanted to incorporate
26:26different ideas.
26:28I was being outvoted at that time on any ideas I came up with.
26:36And it looked like at one point that we were going to close.
26:40We had a lot of problems.
26:44Then COVID gave us no choice, and we closed, and it was a time to re-evaluate.
26:53We had time to sit at home, think about what we had done in the past, and how we were going
26:58to move forward, and a lot of time.
27:02And over a few bottles of wine, we came up with a new vision, a new menu, a new outlook,
27:11a new way to kind of put together the restaurant.
27:15And it's working.
27:17What's the plans for the future?
27:20We definitely want to branch out, Jen and I have been talking about that.
27:25Maybe another restaurant somewhere else in New York or in another state.
27:30But we're definitely thinking about branching out.
27:33And maybe doing not quite, Fresco is a beautiful sit-down restaurant where you can come in
27:39and have a steak, or you can have a pasta and a pizza.
27:44We also thought about doing more casual places with maybe more pizza, more pastas, and maybe
27:51one piece of fish rather than three pieces of fish.
27:55One steak, two lamb chops, one veal chop, to really make the menu a little bit smaller,
28:03curated smaller, but to put all our favorites on.
28:08Jenna, let's pretend that your mom's not here in this interview.
28:12I'd love for you to share.
28:15Tell me a story about something that you've learned, that you didn't know when you were
28:19younger.
28:20Because so many of the lessons, when I think of my grandfather, he was my driving force.
28:25I never met him as a father, but he gave me so much inspiration.
28:28I remember resisting some of the lessons as I was growing up.
28:32And then now I'm like, oh, that's why he cared so much.
28:35Can you share a story?
28:36Pretend like she's not here.
28:38It's so hard because honestly, I learn from her every day.
28:42She's my biggest inspiration.
28:46But one thing that's coming to mind now is that confidence is your most important asset
28:53when being in the front of the restaurant.
28:57And I am naturally a shy person.
28:59It's not in my nature to be outgoing.
29:01I struggle with it.
29:03And I am learning how to be more outgoing and introducing myself and getting things
29:10done.
29:11And I realized that the more I do it, the more confident I'm becoming and the better
29:15reactions I'm getting.
29:17And confidence is key.
29:22Confidence is key.
29:23And Rosanna, I'd love to hear something that your mother taught you.
29:27She's going to get emotional.
29:34I know.
29:35I almost started crying talking about you.
29:41She's something else.
29:42Well, first of all, I'm sorry.
29:48She mortgaged the house.
29:51She mortgaged the house.
29:54I mean, I can't imagine mortgaging my house now for my kids.
29:57I love them, but I would never friggin mortgage the house for them.
30:02So she was fearless and still is fearless.
30:07So I've learned, you know, you have to take a risk or two to be successful.
30:12You have a story that you can share with us of her in the restaurant?
30:20Well, there's so many.
30:22I'm sure there's thousands.
30:24There's so many darn stories.
30:26I mean, you know, she just she loves people.
30:30She loves packing the men.
30:32And, you know, we've had people from like Jeff Bezos come in, and sometimes she's not
30:38up to date on current people.
30:40You know what I mean?
30:41If Frank Sinatra walked in, she'd know Frank Sinatra, Jeff Bezos.
30:46She may not.
30:48She'd put him in the back, the very back that he can see into the kitchen.
30:53It's fantastic.
30:54She didn't recognize him.
31:00That's so great.
31:03Any advice that you've given over the years?
31:06I'm sure you have so many people in your circle that they see what you've done and they see
31:10what you've built.
31:11And they say, how can I?
31:13I want to open up a restaurant.
31:15What advice do you give them?
31:17Well, it takes a lot of work, I will tell you that.
31:19And constant nurturing the restaurant, like I said, for years, I was kind of on the outskirts
31:26of it.
31:27But now it's just Jenna and I running the restaurant.
31:29So there's a lot of day to day stuff that Jenna, thank goodness, handles.
31:34I come in for like the big problems once a week.
31:39But it's, you know, we taste we eat our food.
31:42And I have to say, if I don't like it, you're not going to like it.
31:47I don't like the clams.
31:49I want other clams.
31:51I mean, I am very involved in the menu.
31:54Like if you look at my sister, she like has no body fat.
31:58Okay.
31:59I have body fat to go around for the whole family, because I eat everything on the menu.
32:06And I think that's part of it.
32:07Like you have to love food.
32:12You have to love people.
32:14It goes hand in hand, because it makes everybody happy.
32:19Jenna, what advice would you have on social media, Instagram, marketing?
32:24I was just going to add to what my mom is saying and say that Instagram can be a really
32:30valuable tool.
32:32When I started working here two years ago, we had 25,000 Instagram followers, and I grew
32:39up with 70,000.
32:40Awesome job.
32:41And so many customers see us on Instagram from across the States, from across the world,
32:51see us on Instagram, see the dancing videos, and they're like, we want to go to that place.
32:55So not just showcasing the food, but also showcasing if you have a really spectacular
33:00ambience or people are dancing or the crowd's really lively, showcase all aspects of your
33:07restaurant to create such an inviting atmosphere that people want to go to it.
33:11Can you guys talk a little bit about the team?
33:15How do you hire?
33:16What do you look for?
33:18So obviously we look for people with some experience.
33:24Our top management team has a lot of experience.
33:27We're lucky we just hired a great operational guy, Peter Smith.
33:33Chip Rion is our manager, along with Rita and Marco.
33:36Did I miss anybody, Jenna?
33:38Nope.
33:39Okay.
33:40And they are the people that make everybody feel comfortable when they walk in that restaurant.
33:45Jenna greets them with the biggest smile you've ever seen.
33:49And then they bring that warmth with them into the dining room and make everybody feel
33:54comfortable.
33:56We consider Fresco by Scotto an extension of our home, and everybody has to be in a
34:02good mood.
34:03I don't care what's going on in your life.
34:04When somebody comes into that restaurant, they don't want to know your problems.
34:08They want a great time, a great experience, a great meal.
34:12And everybody's on the same page about how that gets done.
34:17And Jen, talk about how you train the staff and what they have to know about the specials
34:22and the ingredients.
34:23Totally.
34:24So while we do regular menu tastings and menu tests for the staff to make sure that they're
34:31up to par with the menu, but also we're known for our spectacular service at the restaurant.
34:39And almost all the reviews besides the food are about how attentive the staff is.
34:44So when we're hiring servers, we really want to make sure that they're not just order takers,
34:50but they can provide that level of service to make the customer want to come back more,
34:56to make them take a step back and be like, wow, they're really there anticipating my
35:00needs before I even vocalize them.
35:04And that's just quality some people have and some people don't.
35:07I think also willingness to learn is an important thing we look for.
35:13We since my mom and I started our venture together, we're like, we're really revolutionizing
35:21the restaurant.
35:22We're implementing new technology, we're hiring new people.
35:26So because the restaurant's evolving into the future, I want to make sure the staff
35:32can keep up with it.
35:34I would love to talk about the next generation.
35:37Do you a new mom?
35:42Well, we need some younger people and there's always been nieces and nephews.
35:52I have a son who also is very, very charismatic.
35:57He has dabbled in the restaurant business.
35:59Right now he's saying he's staying away from us, maybe because Jen and I are running the
36:03place.
36:04I'm not sure.
36:05But there are nieces and nephews who say right now they'd rather just come dine, but you
36:12never know.
36:13We need another generation.
36:16We're on the third generation, Jen is it.
36:20There's not a fourth generation yet, but we're working on that.
36:23Not yet.
36:24We're working on that.
36:25Not yet.
36:26Can you talk about community?
36:27What it's like to, I mean, because as restauranteurs, we give back always.
36:34Our job is to take care of our village, to take care of our community, take care of our
36:38city.
36:39I'm sure there's been amazing things that you guys have done for the city of New York.
36:41Can you share a little bit about that?
36:43Yes, of course.
36:45Obviously, we do whatever we possibly can.
36:49One of the charities that we're very involved with is God's Love We Deliver.
36:55We do an event in October where we do this really fun lunch and everybody has a great
37:02time, but all the money raised, all of it goes to God's Love We Deliver that day.
37:10Everybody knows they get to learn a little bit about the charity and God's Love We Deliver.
37:15I don't know if you know about it.
37:16It started off many years ago as a lifeline for people who had AIDS and no food.
37:24They were home.
37:25They could not get out.
37:26They could not nourish themselves.
37:28And so God's Love We Deliver brought these home-cooked meals to people who were basically
37:33shut-ins.
37:35And now, obviously, it's evolved to helping those in need in our city.
37:40And sadly, there's so many people who don't have the essentials to eat every day.
37:46So God's Love We Deliver, we support.
37:49That's really cool.
37:50Jenna, is there anything that you guys have coming up when you look back at this interview
37:56when we're thinking big, thinking into the future?
37:59I know we talked about expansion plans, but anything that you would love to let us know?
38:05Yeah.
38:06So in the immediate future, we just opened our first Monday dinner yesterday.
38:11So we are now open for dinner Monday through Saturday, lunch Tuesday through Thursday.
38:18And we are implementing our new Operativo hour from 4.30 to 6 every day with this delicious
38:25small bites menu that I personally could eat every day, but I try not to, otherwise I'd
38:31gain 25 pounds, featuring Mamascato's meatball sliders and these delicious cocktails called
38:39the Presco Affair and other cocktails, 4.30 to 6, Monday through Friday.
38:46Amazing.
38:47So we believe that every person that's listening to this, they have the power of connecting
38:53with people all over the world.
38:55Smartphone storytelling is what we call it.
38:57We like to do a little segment to find out about your smartphone storytelling.
39:01So I haven't had two people do the segment.
39:03So I'm going to start with Rosanna.
39:06Are you an iPhone or an Android user?
39:08iPhone.
39:09Which version?
39:11The latest.
39:12What is that?
39:1315?
39:14Okay.
39:15Do you always update your software?
39:16Yes.
39:17You prefer texts or emails?
39:23I'm not telling you because then you're going to frigging text me.
39:27I won't text you.
39:28Send me an email.
39:29Email?
39:30How many emails do you get a day?
39:32Hundreds.
39:33How many do you enjoy reading?
39:35Three.
39:36But do you leave voicemails?
39:42I do, especially to my kids.
39:46Yes.
39:47I email them.
39:48It's your mother.
39:49That's all she says.
39:51That's it?
39:52That's it.
39:53It's your mother.
39:54That means call me back right away?
39:55Yeah, that's what that means.
39:57Fantastic.
39:58And do you listen to music on your phone?
40:01No.
40:02No?
40:03Do you, which app, which map app do you use?
40:06Apple Maps Waze.
40:08Oh, nice.
40:10Do you prefer photos or videos?
40:12Both.
40:14Both?
40:15Yes.
40:16If you follow me.
40:17Do you take more photos or take more videos?
40:20I'll probably take more photos,
40:22but if you follow me at Rosanna Scotto on Instagram,
40:26you see that I do stories every day and I post.
40:29You do a phenomenal job on Instagram.
40:31We'll put links to your Instagram handle.
40:33Is that your favorite social app?
40:35It is.
40:36It is.
40:37You know, my daughter wanted me to do TikTok.
40:39How many things can I do?
40:40How many things?
40:41All you need to do, you're already doing,
40:43photos and videos.
40:44Don't worry, you're already doing it.
40:46You already have the content.
40:47I don't have time for this.
40:47I need to live life.
40:50You're living an amazing life.
40:53Jenna, are you Android or iPhone?
40:55iPhone.
40:56Latest version?
40:58No, I think I have the 14.
41:01The 14, you update your software?
41:03I do.
41:04And it updates for you if you choose not to.
41:07So, I think everybody updates their software.
41:10You would think, one would think.
41:13Do you prefer texts or emails?
41:14Texts.
41:15Texts or phone calls?
41:17Texts.
41:19How many emails do you get a day?
41:21Hundreds.
41:22How many do you enjoy reading?
41:2420.
41:2520, that's a lot of emails.
41:27They're informative and useful to me.
41:29I enjoy reading it.
41:31Do you leave your mother voicemails?
41:34No.
41:35If she doesn't answer when I call, I text her.
41:37I called you back.
41:40Do you listen to music on your phone?
41:41All the time.
41:42Which app do you use?
41:44Apple Music because it pays the artists more.
41:47Ah, good to know, Apple Music, there you go.
41:49And then which map app do you use?
41:51The Apple built-in or Google Maps.
41:55And photos or videos?
42:00Equal balance.
42:01Equal balance?
42:02Yeah.
42:03Which is your favorite social app?
42:06Instagram.
42:07Instagram.
42:09You guys are absolutely amazing.
42:11Is there anything that you'd like
42:12to leave our audience with?
42:14We've got restaurateurs, we have creators,
42:17we have marketing professionals,
42:18people in the technology space,
42:20but I'm so inspired by your story.
42:22I'm so grateful that you guys joined us.
42:26Is there anything you'd like to leave us with?
42:29We're grateful.
42:30We're grateful to have this opportunity
42:32to talk to you, Sean.
42:34We're grateful to have a wonderful restaurant,
42:36a beautiful family, most importantly,
42:39and wonderful people who come into our restaurant
42:41and wanna have a good time.
42:44That's amazing.
42:45My name is Sean Walcheff.
42:47You can find me at Sean P. Walcheff
42:50on all the social platforms.
42:51We care about you.
42:53We care about your story.
42:54Please reach out to us.
42:56And please, Fresco Biscotto, give them a follow.
43:00We're gonna put links into the show notes.
43:02It's been an absolute pleasure.
43:03Thank you both so much for joining us.
43:06As always, stay curious, get involved,
43:08and don't be afraid to ask for help.
43:09We'll catch you guys next week.
43:12Thank you for listening to Restaurant Influencers.
43:15If you want to get in touch with me,
43:16I am weirdly available at Sean P. Walcheff,
43:19S-H-A-W-N, P-W-A-L-C-H-E-F.
43:23Cali Barbecue Media has other shows.
43:26You can check out Digital Hospitality.
43:28We've been doing that show since 2017.
43:31We also just launched a show, Season Two,
43:34Family Style, on YouTube with Toast.
43:37And if you are a restaurant brand or a hospitality brand
43:40and you're looking to launch your own show,
43:42Cali Barbecue Media can help you.
43:45Recently, we just launched Room for Seconds
43:48with Greg Majewski.
43:50It is an incredible insight into leadership,
43:53into hospitality, into enterprise restaurants
43:57and franchise, franchisee relationships.
44:00Take a look at Room for Seconds.
44:02And if you're ready to start a show, reach out to us,
44:04betheshow.media.
44:06We can't wait to work with you.

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