Today we’d like to introduce you to Sho and Phillip Fusco.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My husband and I both started out in the financial sector but moved into the restaurant world after wanting to pursue our passions for starting another brand. We moved to San Juan Capistrano and discovered Angelina’s in Dana Point. We absolutely loved the food and decided to make a financial investment in the Dana Point location. We then found a space in Irvine for a second location and have been loving it ever since.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
We first were introduced to Angelina’s at the Dana Point location and found out that the owner needed financial help so we invested initially, and later ended up purchasing the entire brand.
When we first purchased Angelina’s, it had little to no advertising or brand identity, so we completely revamped the company. We refreshed the menu and developed our own unique voice for the brand. After opening up our new location in Irvine, we’ve been working on bringing the Dana Point location up to speed to be cohesive with the Irvine branding.
We hired a new marketing company to create a new logo for Angelina’s and develop a style to weave its way throughout all branding aspects. In addition, we’ve also created a restaurant management group that will eventually put all of our business into one central group.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
At Angelina’s, we preserve family recipes and combine them with new world techniques in order to deliver a truly authentic experience.
We specialize in true Napoletana pizza. We source only the most premium ingredients for all of our handcrafted pizzas. In addition to our pizzas, we have a wide variety of true Italian entrees and sides, topped off with our expansive craft cocktail menu.
We are known for our expansive selection of authentic Italian style pizzas.
As a company, we’re most proud of our authentic ingredients. We’ve stayed true to our ingredients since the beginning and import them directly from Italy, including our buffalo mozzarella, which we get from a cheese monger in Napoli. We pride ourselves in maintaining fresh ingredients throughout all of our dishes.
Our Irvine location has two pizza ovens so we can make several dishes at once and are able to keep them fresh and healthy to ensure that nothing is ever deep-fried. We only serve authentic, fresh, delicious meals to all of our customers.
What were you like growing up?
Sho:
I’ve always been curious throughout my life and that has led me to continually want to try new things. I grew up in Iran, so Italian food was not the first thing on the menu, but I was exposed to a variety of cultures growing up as my parents traveled often. We moved from Iran to Sweden, followed by London, and I had the privilege of trying many different foods growing up.
Phillip was born in England and moved around a lot throughout his childhood. He grew up in Washington D.C. and attended college in Maryland. Post-grad, Phillip moved to California and pursued a career in business. After experiencing much success in his various endeavors, Phillip transitioned into the restaurant management world to pursue his passion for Italian culture and food and carry on his family’s Italian roots.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8573 Irvine Center Drive
Irvine CA 92618 - Website: http://www.angelinaspizzeria.com
- Phone: (949) 536-5200
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelinaspizzeria/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelinaspizza1/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/angelinasOC
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/angelinas-pizzeria-napoletana-irvine-2
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