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

Thomas, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

In April of 2020 I found myself like many other people in the Culinary industry out of work. Ive been working in restaurants for the past 29 years. My culinary journey started with a Catering company called Thomas Joseph Catering. I specialized in every cuisine. The catering company closed after four years when I became known for doing Tailgate/Stadium style food. I transitioned Thomas Joseph Catering to Pig Guy NYC with the influence of friends and family. As risks don’t always work out, it turned out to be a bad decision. After losing the business I bounced around from Latin, to Greek, to fine dining. Fast forward to 2020, after being let go because of the pandemic I got on the express bus from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The mood on the bus was uncertainty and fear of the pandemic. I always carried a marble notebook with me, like the ones used in school. I looked at the cover and where it said name I wrote “Brooklyn Roots Italian, and where it said school I wrote Old. At that very moment I knew what I had to do. I had to stay true to why I got into he restaurant industry, and that was my love for Italian American food. I have always been reluctant to just cook Italian American food because I felt it wasn’t challenging enough or that nobody would take me serious as a Chef. Once the lock down started I got to work and started working on all my recipes, everyday they got better. I decided to ask a friend if I could sell prepackaged food out of his butcher shop to get the name out there. People were home I had an audience on social media and Brooklyn Roots was in motion. Then I was given a chance to do takeout out of an existing restaurant. The owner there saw my potential and following that I have built throughout my career. The first day we had three orders the next day 12, and overnight Brooklyn Roots Italian became a success and was being posted and talked about all over south Brooklyn. Brooklyn Roots would be at this location for two years in Sunset Park. I decided to part ways with the partner I had to better the business. I brought Brooklyn Roots to my favorite block in Bay Ridge and partnered up with group of guys that I had knew for a while, They were restaurant operators already having several locations. Beyond there experience they are great people who I knew if we all worked together we would have something special on the block we all loved. This idea is five years old now and Brooklyn Roots is known throughout the country, a small 50 seat restaurant has become a home for employees and guest alike. We like to call it your grandmothers basement, this was all done by social media or word of mouth.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

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Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After losing my job at the start of the pandemic I worked on developing Brooklyn Roots Italian instead of just waiting for the next opportunity. I went back to drawing board and essentially my Roots. On the express bus home from the city I began to draft out how I would make this idea come to life. From there I started cooking meals and selling them thorough a local butcher shop, Then I secured a location in Sunset Park Brooklyn and started doing pickup and delivery when dine in was outlawed. Using social media and word of mouth Brooklyn Roots Italian became a household go to all across Brooklyn. After having some complications with the landlord in Sunset Park, I was once again left without a space. I made sure Brooklyn Roots wouldn’t be dormant during this time period. I used event spaces, bagel stores, anywhere I could find a kitchen I used it. During that time period i was able to secure the location for Brooklyn Roots Italian that I had always wanted. This location came with a partnership with a local restaurant group. Today Brooklyn Roots Italian is almost five years old and thriving. The past three years in Bay Ridge has been refreshing and showed with some belief, and a lot of hard work that I can do anything I want to do in life.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started Brooklyn Roots Italian with nothing. just a space that my partner was the landlord. When I found myself out of that space the overall cost of renovations and partnership was paid for by all the work that I had put in at The Sunset Park location.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brooklynrootsitalian.com
• Instagram: @chefthomasjosephperone
• Facebook: thomas joseph perone

Image Credits

Michael Collins Brooklyn Roots Italian