Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jacqueline Pirolo. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Jacqueline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Looking back, what’s an important lesson you learned at a prior job?

Pay attention to the small details, enforce your standards with your team, and never lose focus of that, it’s what will set you apart and keep your standards high.
I worked at restaurant Joanina located in Huntington Long Island and owner/operater Bobby Oliva taught me this by example. We never skipped steps of service, salt and pepper shakers were always filled to the top, wiped down every single night.
You had to be present on the floor, that meant no phones, no chatting in the back with your coworkers when it was a slow moment in service, no drinking coffee during your shift, no snacking in the back. Not being present even for a minute could result in a guest having a subpar experience. We all enjoyed working alongside him, even if he enforced those rules more than anyone. I learned to respect him for that and the long standing business he and his family created. I realized that was a big reason for their success, holding the entire team to the same set of rules and never allowing us to slack off. I have now learned that employees respect rules/structure so long as it’s enforced in a respectful way. Nobody wants to work at the place that doesn’t care.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the restaurant industry during high school/college, waiting tables part time. I immediately enjoyed it. I loved all the different people working in the restaurant, I loved the immediate gratification you received from serving someone an incredible experience. I was hooked right away. I studied business marketing at SUNY Oswego, and upon graduating I felt like I needed to give the corporate world a try. Needless to say it was not for me. I worked as a production coordinator for a visual effects house and while I loved the people I met there, I didn’t feel passionate enough about the work to support the kind of hours it demanded. I was getting paid peanuts at that time, so I always held onto my restaurant job on the weekends to supplement my income, essentially working 6-7 days/week. Even though I was young, I burned out. I left the production world and went back to the restaurant life full time for what I thought would be temporary until I figured out my next move. I think societal pressures were making me feel like restaurant work was less than, especially since I was paying back school loans. I didn’t know at the time the potential of this industry and that you can choose to go to college and then continue to work in hospitality as a career. My older brother was opening a restaurant in Brooklyn and asked me if I wanted to be his partner. I was 23 at the time and I remember being so nervous to say yes. What if I didn’t want to do this for the rest of my life?! I think again looking back, another thing nobody taught me, you will have multiple jobs, maybe multiple careers, and that nothing has to be forever. Thankfully my brother eased my fears and said be my partner, if you hate it, or get tired of it, you can stop and do something else. A weight was lifted and I hopped on board. We opened The Saint Austere in Brooklyn, NY in 2011. It lasted for just shy of ten years and closed at the start of the pandemic. I was so proud of the neighborhood staple we created there. In 2016 I decided to move to Miami as my other brother and sister in law had opened Macchialina in 2012 and needed some help as the business was growing. What was supposed to be a temporary stay is now 8 years later, and I can’t see myself living anywhere else.
I am so proud of how little ol’ Macchialina has grown and blossomed over the last 12 years. We have such loyal support of the locals. They have our back through everything- hurricanes, pandemics, renovations, you name it, they are here for us, cheering us on. What started as a team of 8 has now grown to about 60 is nothing short of incredible. Macchialina focuses on quality food, has a thoughtful wine and cocktail list, but the thing we try hardest on is our service, the way we make people feel. Our management team, our servers, our dishwashers, our cooks, our bartenders, our reservationists- they truly care so much about their job, they treat Macchialina as if it’s an extension of their home and they are hosting our guests for dinner each night.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

It was Macchialina circa 2015, weekend nights were busy, weeknights were still pretty quiet. We were trying to figure out a way to increase business on a weeknight. The Saint Austere, our sister restaurant at the time was offering $10 pasta Thursday and we decided to try it out. We would offer 10 rotating pastas every Thursday for $10 each, all night long. It blew up! Our tiny little kitchen at the time, could barely keep up with the demand, but we made it happen week after week, year after year. It became a pasta party among locals and industry in the know. It gave folks a chance to try us out without the fear of spending too much, falling in love with us and kept them coming back on other nights as well. We didn’t know at the time the impact this would have. Towards the end of it we had people calling and offering to pay $15/pasta if we could get them in.
We still bring it back from time to time, and we still get random phone calls asking if we still have it every week even thought we paused it in 2021.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

Macchialina started a wine club during the pandemic. What we thought would be temporary as business was slow during those times ended up sticking around and growing to more than 100 members. We have a 2,4 & 6 bottle options with a rotating monthly theme. Members get a snack from the kitchen each month, a QR code on the back of each bottle that allows them to learn more about the wine and first access to any events we host at Macchialina.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.macchialina.com
• Instagram: @Macchialina