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What can a person do with $20? Not too much these days. But, in
1955, Louis Piancone traveled from a small town called Corrado,
Italy to America with only $20 in his pocket. He used that $20 to
build a thriving restaurant/catering business known today as La
Nonna Piancone’s.
Selling fresh mozzarella and ricotta from his truck, Louis would
drive from Hoboken, New Jersey to Bradley Beach each day. When he
saw a “For Rent” sign on the property where Piancone’s
bakery is now located, he immediately inquired. Louis was told
that opening an Italian specialty store in a primarily Jewish
neighborhood was risky – but he forged ahead.
One year after opening, Louis was so busy that he asked his
brother John Piancone to come to America and help him run the
business. Years later, Louis sold the business to John so he could
pursue his dream of operating a wholesale business known today as
Roma Foods. John married a woman he met on Bradley Beach named
Ethel. As the years passed, he continued to run Piancone's and
eventually went on to have and raise four children.
In 1977, John decided he needed more space in order to open a
bakery and eventually branch out into the catering business. His
solution: to buy two neighboring businesses known as the Black Cat
Shoemaker and Connors Bar & Grill. Piancone’s is truly a
family-run business. When John and his wife retired in 2003, his
children - Rick, Charles, Donna, and Anna - all followed in their
father’s footsteps and took over the business. Then, in 2007,
Rick and his wife Cindy decided they wanted to have more time to
travel the world so they sold the Piancone business to
restaurateurs Russell Lewis and Mike Tennyson.
Today, La Nonna Piancone’s has an excellent reputation as a
Mediterranean Italian restaurant/bakery/catering facility that
focuses 100% of its attention on its customers. And, the Piancone
motto: ‘To make each and every customer feel like they are
eating at their grandmother’s house,’ will live on for many,
many years to come.
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