Meet Valentina Molli of Luna Rossa Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valentina Molli.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am third generation restaurateur. I am 27 years old and was born in Rome, Italy. I am the youngest out of 4 girls. My father is the person who really started everything, his name was Angelo Molli, he passed away just 3 years ago. My father had opened over 30 locations in his life time between restaurants, bars & clubs. I learned everything from him and followed in his footsteps.

From the young age of 14 I started working in the restaurant, as a summer job. My father really made me work hard and from a young age I fell in love with food, cooking and overall anything that had to do with working in a restaurant.

I grew up between U.S.A & Italy, on my 18th birthday my father had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him I wanted to move to America again and open a chain of restaurants. Two days later my dad got a one way ticket to the U.S.A. and from there it was history.

My family won the green card in the lottery, believe it or not, it was like destiny. We moved to the U.S. around 2010 and had opened Luna Rossa at Lake Las Vegas, we decided to expand to Fremont Street Las Vegas, Paradise Rd. Las Vegas, Huntington Beach, Palos Verdes & Tustin. We were expanding quickly and had other projects until my dad got sick and passed away in 2014. I with the help of my mom and business partners, decided to sell a few locations and keep others.

I am very young, but not green, I had the most amazing teacher who left me with an amazing talent and passion for the job I ended up falling in love with.

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?
No, it has been very hard. First of all, I started traveling here right around 2008 when the economy fell. We had tented to open a few restaurants which shortly after, because of the economy, failed.

To move across the world and leave everything and everyone behind with a language barrier and diverse culture wasn’t easy. I had no friends, but a very close family which got us to where we are today. The restaurant business is however in itself a very competitive and hard industry to succeed in, but with the right concept people learned to fall in love and started coming back for more.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Luna Rossa Ristorante Italiano & Pizzeria story. Tell us more about the business.
Luna Rossa is a family ran restaurant, our executive chef Mauro Di Rofi is from Rome, Italy as well. He is based in our Orange County location. We are a full service Italian restaurant & pizzeria. We are well known for our homemade pastas wood burning Pizza and full bar.

From the moment you walk in the door you are greeted as family. We have put together the most amazing staff, who’s number one priority is the customers happiness. We work as a team from the front of the house to the kitchen. Our chef makes everything from scratch and is always accommodating to make custom made orders and accept any special request. We have an extensive wine list as well as amazing craft cocktails. On the weekends, we have live music in the patio which gives the perfect touch of atmosphere to Luna Rossa.

I am very hands on in the restaurant, you can find me anywhere from the host desk, serving as well as bartending. My concept is to show my team how hard I work and like to set the example of the kind of service I expect out of them as well.

I have lots of loyal customers, who I have considered to be like family for a long time now. We also have worked with lots of charity company, one in particular currently is Lunch On Me (based out of LA). We take 2-4 homeless members of Skid Row once a month and bring them to Luna Rossa to enjoy a 4-course meal and give them an amazing full dining experience to make the feel human once again.

I am proud to carry my father’s last name and his legacy, for me Luna Rossa is much more than a restaurant, it’s my family’s history and love story with restaurants.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
We have been very lucky as well as unlucky. As Italians, we are very superstitious and believe that everything happens for a reason.

Things like winning the green card lottery doesn’t just happen to anyone. Closing down restaurant was bad luck, but taught us not to give up, work together and harder. Thanks to that we are who we are today.

Pricing:

• Our Pastas range between $15 to $30
• Our Pizzas are $16 to $22
• Our Entrees $24 to $38

Contact Info:

• Address: Orange County – 2449 Park Ave., Tustin, CA 92782
  Palos Verdes – 550 Deep Valley Drive, Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
  Lake Las Vegas – 10 Via Bel Canto, Henderson, NV 89011
• Website: LunaRossaRistorante.com
• Phone: Tustin -714-259-0861 Palos Verdes 310-377-0202 Lake Las Vegas – 702-568-9921
• Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_luna_rossa_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LunaRossaOC/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/luna-rossa-tustin

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.