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Canadians of the Month: Sandro Oliverio & Marcello Cacioppo
Restaurateurs


Where are you each from and how did you meet?


Sandro: I was born and raised in Montreal by Italian immigrant parents.
Marcello: I'm from Toronto. Sandro and I met in LA many years ago, shortly after I had moved here.


When did your love for food begin? 


S: When I was a child, my father owned an Italian restaurant, and I believe that was where my love of food and service first began.
M: Coming from a Sicilian family, my love for food was as natural as breathing. My grandparents and parents had immigrated from Sicily to Toronto in the early 50's and 60's. As you can imagine, growing up was very colourful with our Italian culture. Big family, big home-cooked meals, gardens in our backyards each year filled with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, cucuzza, eggplant, red peppers, basil, parsley, etc. At any time, you would find homemade pomodoro and wines, marinated melanzane, and cured meats in our cantinas. This was the norm, and I loved it! My Ma was always cooking from scratch each day for our family. As a kid, I would love to watch and sometimes steal a meatball when she wasn't looking. Good fun memories. 

What brought you each to LA?


S: I originally came to California as an exchange student to San Diego State. That is when my love of California began. I was a snowbird for many years. 
M: I came to LA for the entertainment industry (acting and music), which I am still involved in but naturally always kept my hand in the restaurant/bar business, including my private event company Hottown Events, which provides bar catering and event staffing for high-profile clients and events. This stems from my Italian roots, always wanting to entertain people with great drinks and food with exceptional service. 


What was your first restaurant? 
S: I opened my first restaurant on Sunset Blvd. Amarone Kitchen & Wine.
M: My first restaurant was BEST F*CK'N PIZZA with my partners Christian and Sandro, and we have expanded in the past five years with multiple locations, including BEST F*CK'N HOT CHICKEN and Il Nido in Sherman Oaks. 


Do your Canadian roots influence any of your menus?
S: Since my first restaurant, I opened Hard Times Pizza Co in Echo Park and then The Mile End Cafe on Beverly Blvd, which I converted to the new Amarone Kitchen and Bar due to the loss of my lease on Sunset Blvd. That move left a hole in my soul as I no longer had a venue to serve Montreal classics such as Saint Viateur Bagels, smoked meat, poutine, pate chinois, and so on. So in typical Sandro fashion without much thought to the logistics of running another restaurant, I took over Attitude Cafe on 3rd Street, where I now serve American breakfast and brunch, and added the Montreal classics to help feed my soul.
M: I can say it's a mix of our Italian and Canadian roots. We are a small country in population compared to the US, so the need to bring people together never got lost and is always encouraged. Our parents' culture and influences brought people who knew how to utilize Canada's natural resources to grow quality produce, herbs, and grains, that we use in our cooking daily.


Can you give people a quick breakdown of all of your restaurants and where people can try them out?


Yes! We have BEST F*CK'N PIZZA located at 5907 Hollywood Blvd & 6116 1/2 W Pico Blvd offering pizza, fresh pastas and sauces along with salads and sandwiches. Plus a new location in Las Vegas!


BEST F*CK'N HOT CHICKEN, located at 6268 W Sunset Blvd and 1670 N Vermont Blvd offering Nashville hot chicken sliders and tenders, fries and coleslaw. 


IL NIDO located at 15466 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks offering many Italian dishes from all regions of Italy and Italian wines. All of our shops are open daily.  

Amarone located at 7149 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles, Amarone is an Italian family-owned restaurant where organic ingredients are used whenever possible. We make all our breads, pastas, sauces and desserts in-house daily.

Attitude Café, located at 6009 West 3rd Street, Los Angeles, walking distance from The Grove, LACMA, and The Farmer’s Market, this is your friendly neighborhood spot!