Nick Pellegrino has worked in pizzerias in New York and has owned various food venues, ranging from a pizzeria to a taco bar to a martini bar. He needed something to busy himself, so he came to Columbia to help his friend, Kristian Agoglia, open up Joe Rocco's Pizzeria.
"Where Kristian lives in New York is literally two miles from my last restaurant," Pellegrino said. "I like a challenge, and Kristian is very inspirational. He isn't afraid to roll up his sleeves, get dirty and do everyday tasks. I plan to do more things with him."
Pellegrino came to Columbia four years ago to visit and see the town. After he sold his last restaurant, he decided to come back to town for a while to lend his knowledge of food and business ethics to the opening of Joe Rocco's. His brother, Johnny, who studied at the French Culinary Institute, joined him here this month and has added even more depth to the managing crew at the pizzeria.
A Long Island, N.Y. native, Pellegrino would tag along with his dad who distributed Coca Cola and Boar's Head products to different delis, pizzerias and restaurants throughout Manhattan and Long Island. He said he learned more about how to manage and deal with people while he was in and out of those places all day than he did in college, where he earned a degree in business administration. That's also when he knew he wanted his own restaurant.
Pellegrino worked in a pizzeria for years, and after he graduated, he saw one for sale. He approached his father about a joint venture, and the deal was done.
That venture gave him more knowledge about the business that has transferred to Columbia.
"We are building a great team. I'm not going to leave the project. I'd like to see multiple Joe Rocco's in Mississippi," he said. "Hopefully, people will like it and see that it's quality food. We could get cheaper ingredients, but we are specific on things like the type of tomatoes. We use San Martino Imported tomatoes, for example. We want to build the best we can."
Pellegrino said he doesn't want the story to be all about him because he didn't do it all alone. Chef Melinda Winner from Frosty's Sweets and Eats did a lot of the work in getting the restaurant started with setting up, ordering and getting the board of health certification and training staff for the needed certifications. His brother, Johnny, helped even before arriving in Columbia. He also wanted to thank the construction crew as well as IT and Jacob Harrison of Experience Columbia.
"You need a plumber? Ten minutes later, one is there. You need an electrician? Ten minutes later, one is there," Pellegrino said. "That's unheard of in New York. Everyone here is so pleasant. The people are what is (keeping me here) and will keep me here."
Pellegrino said the first week of operations went well, as did the evening of the lighting of downtown. That evening the line was long but moved quickly.
"The entire staff worked together real well. The customers seemed to like everything," he said.
Joe Rocco's will continue to have an event menu until January, then a casual main floor menu will be instituted with hero sandwiches, pizzas, salads and such. Later in the year, the upstairs will open as a sit down, full-service Italian restaurant with a private room for parties.
