We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chef Rocco Pezzano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chef Rocco below.

Chef Rocco , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, what do you think about family businesses? Would you want your children or other family members to one day join your business?

I never planned on opening another restaurant. After years in the industry, I thought I had moved on. But then my son Marco came to me one day and said, “Let’s do it again.” He grew up in restaurants, in the kitchens I built, and he missed it. And if I’m honest, I missed it too—not just the cooking, but the people, the energy, the feeling of feeding a room full of people and knowing you gave them something special.

So, we opened SFIZIO together. A father and son, two different minds, one vision.

People always say working with family is tough, and they’re not wrong. You bring all your history into the business, the good and the bad. The biggest challenge is knowing when to be business partners and when to be family. But when you find that balance, you build something stronger than any one person could do alone.

Marco and I don’t always agree. He sees things differently—he’s young, sharp, always thinking of the next step. He understands the business in ways I never did. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know food, I know flavors, I know how to run a kitchen. But the world has changed. Restaurants today aren’t just about good food—you have to understand branding, marketing, technology. Marco has brought all of that to SFIZIO, and I’ve taught him the traditions, the discipline, the craft. We push each other, and that’s why it works.

I’ve seen a lot of family businesses over the years—some that thrived and some that fell apart. The difference was always respect. I’ve watched families let ego or stubbornness get in the way, where no one wants to listen, and eventually, the business suffers. I knew from the start that wouldn’t work for us. Marco and I have had our disagreements—any father and son will—but we respect each other’s strengths. I trust his vision, and he trusts my experience. That’s why this works.

One moment that really stuck with me was early on, when we were first building SFIZIO. The restaurant was still coming together, and I was handling the kitchen while Marco was deep into the branding, the design, the tech—things I never had to think about before. I remember standing in the middle of the dining room, watching him measure something for a sign, directing a contractor, while I was focused on the menu, the recipes, the kitchen buildout. It hit me then—this is how family businesses work when they work well. Each person plays their role, but we’re all building the same thing.

But family at SFIZIO doesn’t just mean Marco and me. My wife, Zoritza, is the heart of this place in so many ways. Even though she works outside of the restaurant, she’s always here—checking on guests, making them feel at home. She has a way of making people feel like they’ve walked into our family’s dining room, and that’s something no amount of training can teach.

Then there’s Arianna, our daughter, who is in med school. She’s not in the restaurant day to day, but when we need her, she’s there. No hesitation, no complaints—just stepping in, helping out. It’s what family does.

Would I want my children to join the business? Yes and no. You don’t want to force this life on anyone. I never wanted to push them into it. The restaurant industry is hard. It’s long hours, constant stress, never-ending work. It’s not something you do just because your father did it—you have to love it. But Marco has that passion. I see it in the way he talks about the business, in how much he cares about every decision, big or small. And he has full intentions of taking over.

More than that, we have plans. Once Marco finishes school we have our sights set on opening a new concept together. SFIZIO was our first step, but it won’t be our last.

SFIZIO isn’t just a restaurant—it’s a family business in every sense. It’s about our roots, our heritage, and our future. We built it with our own hands, and when guests walk in, they feel that. They see a father and son, working side by side, my wife making sure everyone feels at home, my daughter jumping in when needed. That’s what makes family businesses special. It’s not just about making money—it’s about passing something down, about creating something that lasts.

That’s why we do it. That’s what SFIZIO is all about.

Chef Rocco , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Calabria, Italy, where food wasn’t just something you ate—it was a way of life. It’s not about shortcuts, it’s about patience, quality, and doing things the right way. Cooking started early, in family kitchens, in small bakeries, in the streets where you learned from watching, from feeling, from instinct. When I came to the U.S. in 1986, I carried that with me. I built restaurants from the ground up, always with the same philosophy: use the best ingredients, make things by hand, and never cut corners.

SFIZIO is that philosophy, brought to life with my son Marco. We built it together, a true scratch kitchen, family-owned, and deeply personal. Everything here starts from the basics—flour, water, time. The pasta is hand-rolled, the dough is mixed in-house, the sauces are slow-cooked the way they should be. We bring in real Parmigiano-Reggiano, DOP San Marzano tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil from Italy. We do it because it makes a difference.

SFIZIO isn’t just another Italian restaurant. We take the time to do things the right way—handmade pasta, dough mixed and stretched in-house, sauces simmered low and slow. We’re not chasing trends or trying to be something we’re not. We focus on what matters: quality, authenticity, and giving people an experience that feels both familiar and exciting.

Our Neapolitan-style pizza is made with imported flour, naturally leavened dough, and baked in a stone deck oven—crisp, airy, light, the way it should be. Our pastas are made fresh, never store-bought, and always paired with sauces that are balanced, simple, and rich with real Italian ingredients. We make our own focaccia, our own desserts, and everything that leaves the kitchen is something we’d serve in our own home.

There’s something special about building a place with your family and watching it become a part of the community. We’re proud of the fact that SFIZIO isn’t just a business—it’s a gathering place. We see families coming in, just like ours, creating memories around the table. We see people who grew up in this neighborhood, just like we did, now bringing their own families to dine with us.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

For us, the best source of new guests has always been word of mouth. You can spend all the money in the world on ads, but nothing is more powerful than someone saying, “You have to try this place.” When people walk into SFIZIO, they feel the difference—not just in the food, but in the energy, in the warmth, in the way we treat every guest like family. That experience is what keeps them coming back, and more importantly, it’s what makes them bring others with them.

Any advice for managing a team?

A restaurant isn’t just about food—it’s about the people who make it happen every day. If you want a strong team, they have to feel like they’re part of something bigger. They have to believe in what they’re doing.

The other side of it is respect. A kitchen is high-pressure, fast-moving, intense. But that doesn’t mean it has to be miserable. I’ve worked in places where it was all yelling, all stress—and that’s not how I want to run my kitchen. If you respect your team, they’ll respect you back. That means training them the right way, leading by example, and making sure they know they matter.

And finally, it’s about passion. We’re not serving corporate fast food, we’re not flipping burgers at some chain. Everything we do is hands-on, made from scratch, done with care. It’s easy to take pride in your work when you know you’re making something real. That’s why I bring my team into the process—show them how the dough should feel, let them taste the sauce as it cooks, help them understand why we use the ingredients we do. When they’re part of that, they’re not just workers—they’re craftsmen.

At the end of the day, if your team believes in what they’re doing and they feel valued, they’ll show up, work hard, and take pride in every dish that leaves the kitchen. And that’s how you build something special.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sfizioitaliano.com
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