Meet Antonio Fusca of SUGO ITALIANO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Antonio Fusca.

Hi Antonio, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
This is the story of Antonio with the “Great American Dream”.
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Antonio, 38 year old Italian, as a child had the dream of becoming a star chef, and made the hotel school internship in many famous Italian restaurants.
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I CAME TO LOS ANGELES IN FEBRUARY 2017 AND IN MAY 2017
SUGO ITALIANO FOOD TRUCK WAS BORN.

THE IDEA WAS TO BRING AN ITALIAN CUISINE DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE YOU FIND IN THE ITALIAN RESTAURANTS HERE IN LA.

A CUISINE BASED ON OLD TASTES, THE TASTES OF GRANDMA
AND MY MOTHER.
YES THEIR RECIPES!!!!
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SIMPLE THINGS BUT WELL DONE.
AT THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT EASY,
I HAVE TO ADMIT IT, that THE FIRST TWO YEARS I CHANGED THE MENU 10 TIMES MAYBE, BECAUSE I SAW IMMEDIATELY THAT PEOPLE WERE USED TO EAT OTHER KINDS OF COusine IN THE STREET FOOD.
BUT THEN THE DESIRE TO WORK AND CONTINUE WITH SACRIFICES HAS BORN THE HOPED RESULTS.

NOW WE ARE A REALITY HERE IN LOS ANGELES.
AND I AM PROUD to say THAT
SUGO ITALIANO
WAS
THE FIRST TRUE 100% ITALIAN FOOD TRUCK
CREATED IN LOS ANGELES

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REMEMBER:
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THE WORLD IS IN THE HANDS OF THOSE WHO HAVE THE COURAGE TO DREAM AND RUN THE RISK OF LIVING THEIR DREAMS

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
At the beginning, it wasn’t easy, because here in Los Angeles, people aren’t used to Italian food trucks. They’re used to Mexican trucks, burgers, sushi, American-style food. So when they saw an Italian truck for the first time, their first reaction was: “Pasta in a truck?” Because they were used to thinking of Italian food as something you sit down for at a restaurant.

That alone was already a challenge for me when I started—people didn’t see it as something normal.

And then, the menu was another issue. I had come here with my Italian mentality. People here love Italy, but a lot of them were born in places like New York or Chicago. They grew up thinking of themselves as Italian-Americans, coming from distant Italian roots, but they were taught a version of Italian culture that honestly isn’t the same as what we have in Italy.

For example, things like chicken parmigiana don’t exist in Italy, or pasta with chicken, or chicken alfredo—that doesn’t exist either.

So I arrived with my own menu, but people didn’t understand it. They kept asking, “What’s this?” “What’s that?” I remember changing the menu like ten times over eight years, until I finally found the right one.

In the end, I decided to cook what they liked—but my way. With my own cooking style, with my flavors.

I also remember the first day I went out to work with the truck. I was out in Hollywood for 12 hours the whole day, and I made only $50 in sales—just $50. I wanted to cry. I remember feeling like I was going to cry.

But little by little, step by step—you have to be consistent, you can’t give up. You have to keep going, keep pushing, and eventually the results come.

It took years—years—but now, we’re a real thing.

We’ve been impressed with SUGO ITALIANO, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Sugo Italiano is the first truly Italian food truck born in Los Angeles. I launched it in May 2017, and it’s been eight years now that Sugo has been rolling through the streets of Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura—everywhere.

As I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t easy at first. But little by little, people began to discover my cooking—made with traditional flavors, the flavors of my grandmother, my mother, the way they used to cook.

My cuisine isn’t fine dining like in fancy restaurants, but you could say it’s five-star in the sense of the flavors your grandparents used to give you, your mom’s homemade meals. That kind of traditional taste that’s hard to find in restaurants nowadays—because now it’s all nouvelle cuisine, all these fancy and particular things.

The flavors that remind you of your family—that’s what I wanted to bring to the food truck.

From there, people started to get to know us. We began catering, weddings, private parties—so many, so many events.

I remember the first big catering I did—it was for 800 people.

And I’ll never forget when I shot a commercial for Adidas on National Pasta Day. I couldn’t believe it when they called me because they wanted a real Italian food truck for the event. They called me to be the sponsor for Adidas. The artist Tory Lanez was there. They shot a commercial with my truck, with Tory Lanez, and Adidas’ new tracksuit—it was something really cool and special.

I also remember working for UCLA for about a year and a half, where I was serving 600 to 700 plates a day for the students. And so many other things I’ve done over these 8 years.

The truth is, Los Angeles is something incredible—it can give you the opportunity to do so many things. But at the same time, you always have to keep your feet on the ground. Because you can climb to the top—it might take 5, 6, 7, 8 years—but you can fall in a minute.

So I’m truly proud of Sugo Italiano.
Our services include catering, private parties, movie sets, weddings, employee appreciation events, graduations, birthday parties—any kind of party. We can cater for any type of event

Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
What I’d like to share is that I’m writing a book about my story—a book where I talk about everything. I mean everything that has happened to me here, both personal and business-related. Because each of us has a story.

What I want to say is: never give up. If you have a dream, you have to go after it. You have to believe in your dream and believe you can reach it. Don’t give up at the first fall—you might fall a thousand times, but what matters is getting back up.

And when you do get back up, that’s when you start to realize that maybe you too have wings—powerful wings that can take you really high.

That’s the advice I want to give to all the young people who have a dream—not just those who want to come to America, but also those who want to go anywhere else in the world.

Especially to young Italians—because unfortunately, the economy in Italy right now is struggling, and many young people are leaving. But sometimes they don’t have the strength or the courage to change.

I found the courage—but if I could find it, then so can many others.

So what I say is: don’t stop. Don’t settle. Always try to understand what you really want out of life, and never be satisfied with less.

That’s the message I want to share

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Sugoitaliano.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sugo_italianflavour?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Yelp: https://yelp.to/TCSQAuykXd