Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcello Cacioppo.
Hi Marcello, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Christian, Sandro and myself ( Marcello) have been friends for 20+ years and all have a strong passion for food and wine. We started with a Ghost kitchen concept for our Pizza brand BEST FCKN PIZZA in January 2020, Unhappy with the ghost kitchen concept a few months in (as we felt we could not connect with our customers the way we wanted to) and in the height of the pandemic we shifted and opened a brick and mortar location for BEST FCKN PIZZA in the heart of Hollywood in October 2020 ( Mid City 2023)
As it was risky it proved the right move, so being as crazy as we are are we ventured out to search for another BFP location but as fate would have it we stumbled upon a location that was perfect for what would become Il Nido Sherman Oaks.
The space was perfect for what we wanted to accomplish for an Italian restaurant with beer and wine,
but we faced a few blows due to the pandemic with wage and food inflation and we were stalled with the opening. We had to wait it out, pivot and basically create a BFP pop up so we could at least pay the rent. When things seemed to balance out a bit we went back to the drawing table.
Our passion and a need to make our investment make sense we looked into our Italian upbringing and we began developing a menu consisting of traditional dishes from all parts of Italy including our southern roots of Sicily and Calabria,
Bringing what we grew up with to the table we incorporated fresh pastas such as Spaghetti, Rigatoni, Stuffed Raviolis paired w homemade sauces such as Carbonara, Amatriciana, Bolognese, Pomodoro, Butter and Sage as well as appetizers such as Arancini, Beef Carpaccio, Panzanella Salad, etc , and fish, chicken and meat entrees that reflected our Italian heritage.
We also wanted to bring a wine list consisting of wines from both northern and Southern Italy to give a more broad selection.
We love what we do and we love to see people enjoying what we worked so hard for.
You can visit Il Nido Sherman Oaks or if you want a more casual vibe you can visit BEST FCKN PIZZA (Hollywood and Mid City ) or BEST FCKN HOT CHICKEN ( Hollywood and Los Feliz)
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has definitely not been smooth. California does not make it easy on business owners at all. Wage and food inflation, high taxes, homelessness and crime have all hindered our business.
We have had multiple attempted and successful break ins, trouble finding staff that will work, when the government is willing and easily giving them extra assistance resulting in paying higher wages so people will come to work but then the vendors charging us more for product which we then have to put on to the customer. its a never ending cycle that only serves the State. High wages= higher payroll taxes. higher food costs = higher charges equalling higher sales tax being collected and paid back to the state. The state wins. The business owners struggle .
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We created a brand “BEST FCKN’ starting with BEST FCKN PIZZA in 2020 , NY Pizzeria in Los Angeles We offer Pizzas, Fresh Pastas and mozzarella sticks, meatballs, chicken wings. salads.
In 2023 we created our next casual concept BEST FCKN HOT CHICKEN , a Nashville hot chicken concept offering Nashville hot Chicken tender sliders and tenders combos , Chicken and waffles, Mac n cheese , fried pickles . coleslaw and fries, We have 2 locations for each brand and are looking to expand into other parts of the country.
The idea behind BEST FCKN is to create casual concepts that are edgy fun and packed with quality food and drinks.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
Love The Sunshine and vibrant food and bar scene. Hate The politics and how this state is being managed
Pricing:
- Il Nido $$$
- BFP $$
- BFHC $$
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ilnidola.com
- Instagram: @il_nido_la
- Other: https://resy.com/cities/los-angeles-ca/venues/il-nido-ca?seats=2&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAq4FLid-nbKPYAMA5V9QrtoXz7WhC&date=2025-01-26
