Today we’d like to introduce you to Vincenzo Porcu.
Hi Vincenzo, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My name is Vincenzo Porcu. I was named after my grandfather Vincenzo Porcu who owned two restaurant in Sardinia. I come from Sinnai, a small town near the mountains of Cagliari in Sardinia Island, Italy.
I started working as a server at 14 years old in a restaurant in the hills of Sinnai. Then I moved to the city of Cagliari when I was around 16- or 17-year-old and continued to work as a server in a different restaurant. After few years, when I was around 19 or 20, I moved to Florence with a friend of mine to work in another restaurant located in front of a cathedral which was so beautiful. During my time there, I was aspired to become a manager so learned how to work in the kitchen at the pizza station and the dessert station since it is the rules that to become a manager one needs to know all the position in the restaurant.
In Florence, I met Francesca Arcilesi from New York who was studying Italian. Then in 2001 on the same day when the Twin Towers tragedy happened, Francesca desperately decided to come back to New York to find her parents as they were missing because of the event. So, I decide to come with her to help her out. After 6 months in New York, I found a job at an gelato shop on 28th and 3rd Avenue called “Il Gelatone” where was working as a gelato maker and managing the store. At the same time, I was also working at a restaurant in Soho “Sovore Restaurant” as a server.
After 4 years in New York, I visited Los Angeles on a vacation. It was in December 2005, but the weather was so warm and beautiful compare to New York. For that reason, that I decided to give a try and moved to Los Angeles. I was used to the subway system in New York so in Los Angeles, it was a little challenging for me at the beginning due to the lack of good public transportation and I quickly learned that I need to get a car.
After I found the car, I was able to find a job and I went to work for the Drago Family where I was working for them for 12 years (7 years as a server and 6 years as a manager, assistant general manager, and general manager in the end).
When I was working at Drago Centro as a General Manager, I received a phone call from a friend that told me that one of her friends has a restaurant for sale and asked me if I was interested in buying it. I said “Yes! Why not???” I came to see the restaurant, but the owner was asking for certain amount of money that I wasn’t able to find, and I was very sad. However, after a few days he called me back and asked me if I would be interested in running the restaurant for him instead of buying it. I accepted his offer with the condition that only if I can buy in at least 30 % share of the restaurant and I can come out with my own concept of SARDINIA FOOD!!! And guess what? He agreed and I was so excited!!! I was able to reorganizing the restaurant, changed few things, and got it ready to operate within a few months. I opened the restaurant in 2019 only a few months before COVID striked. I never give up even if I thought that the opportunity I had was almost gone. I sent all my employees home and I continued to work by myself cooking and making delivery and cleaning the store for over a year so the restaurant could stay opened. And little by little, the restaurant started working again and I started to rehire employees as the situation improved. And as you can see now, I’m here and the restaurant is still open lol. I’m very proud of it and very happy!!!
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?
MY biggest problem was covid-19 and find employees that want to work many people were looking for job but in reality, they don’t want to work lol
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Now I’m owner of Carasau restaurant I do everything in the restaurant I develop my recipe I teach my cooks, I organize the front of the house-training servers’ managers, etc. I’m the one that go grocery shop almost every day Pratley I’m a RESTAURATEUR I love my job I like to talk to people and to interact with everyone we are the only Sardegna restaurant in Los Angeles and maybe the only one in California
My Sardinia wines what as concept I serve only Sardinians wine and pastas like Fregola – malloredus – Culurgiones – Seadas etc…
I’m very proud of my staff my food and what I was able to become!!!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I think that we all need a mentor finding a mentor is not easy, but you need to trust and follow him in all his doing, also you need to understand that maybe sometimes you don’t like the things that the mentor tell you to do but is necessary to understand very well why and do your own research
Networking also is very important if you don’t network will be more difficult for the business to stand up and be notice
For me work very well to have a complete restaurant and coffee shop in the same location
I can serve pizzas, Food for the restaurant have some pastry for the coffee for sure espresso, sandwich, and gelatos, etc.
Pricing:
- Homemade Culurgiones Potato Filled Ravioli, mint, Tomato Sauce, Pecorino Cheese 23.50
- Fregola di Mare (Pasta Pearl), Clams, Mussels, Scallops, Shrimps, lobster broth, touch tomato sauce $ 29.50
- Infernal Spicy Pizza -tomato sauce, gorgonzola, spicy salami, Italian sausage, red onions, jalapeno, chili flake, oregano, spicy olive oil $ 27.00
- Malloredus Malloreddus Pasta, Pork Sausage, fennel seed, saffron, tomato sauce, pecorino cheese 24.50
- Moscardini Baby octopus, in brown tomato sauce, snow peas
Contact Info:
- Website: https://carasauristorante.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carasauristorante/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Carasauristorante/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carasau-culver-city
- Other: https://foodietaly.com/sardinian-restaurant/
