Track and Food 46: Restaurant Industry Heavyweights Paul Grunberg and Romano Castillo Of Savio Volpe and Pepino's On Transitioning Into Covid Phase Three, Fun Stories And Hopeful Silver Linings
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In this episode it delighted us to bring on two prominent hospitality veterans in Paul Grunberg and Romano Castillo. You might recognize these two as the former faces of Gastown’s L’Abattoir, where they helped distinguish that restaurant as being one of Vancouver’s best for many years.
However, a few years back, Paul and his partners ventured out on their own to open a trio of new restaurants. First up was Osteria Savio Volpe, an upscale Italian joint with one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city. Next came Pepino’s Spaghetti House and its sister grocery and coffee bar, Caffe La Tana. All three have emerged as classic representations of old school family dining with the added bonus of top-notch hospitality. Helping to provide this ideal for Paul and his team is his lead man, General Manager, Romano Castillo, who has help shepherd all three establishments.
Because of their longstanding working relationship, we wanted to talk to them about how they’ve dealt with the COVID — 19 pandemic, shifting to delivery and takeout and how they plan to reopen their restaurants to the dining public. We also waxed on the state of the restaurant community as a whole, thoughts on what can be improved, wholesale liquor pricing, patio expansions, past experiences and much much more.
This was a fun chat as both men highlight that even though times may seem dour for our restaurant community at present, there’s still space for much optimism. It was refreshing to hear their insights and much needed candor. We hope you enjoy this one as much as we did.
**Side note: Mickey was having microphone issues on this one, so he’s barely in this episode. We apologize if hearing Mickey’s witty comments is partly why you tuned in. We’ve sourced the problem and it won’t happen again.
Osteria Savio Volpe is located just off Fraser Street and Kingsway. It’s fantastic. We highly recommend you check it out. The restaurant opens to the public today, June 1st. They will continue to offer pick up via Tock to go and delivery via DoorDash. Jamie is super stoked about their Cynar spritz to go bottles.
Pepino’s Spaghetti House is located on Commercial Drive close to Hastings Street. Dine in is still closed for the time being. However, pick up via Tock to go and delivery via DoorDash are available. Get the Pork Chop!
Caffe La Tana is located just next door to Pepino’s. It is still closed for dine in service. They are offering grocery delivery on their website. We haven’t tried it yet, but the pizza kit looks delicious and fun.
https://caffelatana.ca
***Scout is one of Vancouver’s leading food and culture magazines. If you’re wanting to learn more about the city’s food and cultural sphere with regards to community news, new restaurant openings, essential guides to some of the city’s best offerings as well as who’s hiring, Scout is where you should go. They also have a sister website called Islandist. Same type of content only Island driven. That’s Islandist.ca.
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