Longtime Houston restaurateur Vincent Mandola opened his Nino’s restaurant in 1977. Later he opened Vincent’s next door and then the private-party Grappino’s facility. Mandola now has nearly an entire block of restaurants in Houston. Mandola also launched the fast-causal Pronto Cucinino’s in 2005 and opened another in 2007. He’s about to sign a lease for a third.
How did you get involved in the restaurant business?
I had graduated from high school and ended up in a lot of dead-end jobs, and then I got drafted. When I went into the Army, they said I was going to be a cook. I tried to change my orders, but it would have been ground infantry or mortar platoon. I said, “Just leave it as a cook.” I ended up in Vietnam with another Italian boy whose dad had pizza restaurants in Wisconsin, and we hit it off. When I got out, I was set on the restaurant business.
Your brothers are also in the same industry in Houston?
My brother Tony married Ninfa Laurenzo’s daughter, Phyllis, here in Houston, and the Ninfa’s restaurant became a big success. My brother Damian with my nephew Johnny Carrabba had the Carrabba’s restaurants.
And the restaurant family continues with your two daughters?
Vinceanne [Mandola Green] and Mary [Dana Corbett] after school decided they wanted to come into the restaurant business. I tried to talk them out of it and told them about the hours that were involved, but they came ahead anyway.… These days I’m really happy for it. It’s a great family operation.
FAST FACTS EDUCATION: St. Thomas High School, HoustonAGE: 66HOBBIES: traveling, spending time with grandchildren, golfing
How did you come up with the idea for Pronto Cucinino’s?
People are so busy taking care of business these days that they end up at quick-service restaurants. I paid attention to what Café Express and Pei Wei Asian Diner were doing, and I thought I could do the same for Italian. I talked to my daughters and Mary and looked at it seriously. We did the first Pronto in 2005. The girls are now partners with me on that. It’s become an extension of what I’ve been doing in Houston for 31 years.
Did you fear it would cannibalize business at your full-service dining restaurants?
Nino’s is only about three blocks away from our complex here, but it’s an effort to extend the business in a new concept.… We’re finding it’s just another choice. I see people who eat at Nino’s and Vincent’s, but they don’t reduce their visits. It’s a concept that does good numbers. It’s for the person on the go.
What is the challenging economy doing for the fast-casual Pronto?
The numbers seem to be better recently. We started off the first Pronto with about $2.5 million in annual sales. This past year we did $2.8 [million]. That tells me it’s growing. As things are getting tougher in the economy, I’m seeing the lines grow a bit at Pronto. It’s faster. We do counter service with food runners.
In 31 years in the business, you’ve seen economic ups and downs. Any advice for operators today?
I’m seeing that food costs are up, and you are getting charged for every little thing, especially these fuel charges. I’m trying to run the business more efficiently. You don’t want to cut back on quality.
