Commerce

Mom-and-pop trattorias compete on several fronts:
The struggle of running privately owned eateries in Florence

Savannah Jones, reporter
Megan Gilker, photography

Tossed between the impulses of the past and the modernity, some of Florence's business owners are faced with either compromising their Florentine essence to appeal to tourists or passing up higher revenues.

Privately owned eateries are no exception. These mom-and-pop restaurants constantly compete with one another while also trying to meet the demands of modernity in a struggle between change and tradition.

Luigi Pisano, owner of Zio Gigi's, grew up in Calabria in the southern part of Italy and decided to come to Florence 26 years ago in search of work.

"In the South the work is not as good because there are not a lot of tourists," Pisano said. However, six years ago Pisano began transitioning what was a Chinese restaurant into what it is now, facing many challenges along the way.

"It was a central, very well known place, so transforming the Chinese food into Tuscan food and building up new clients was a challenge," he said.

Although the quaint osteria restaurant is somewhat hidden at the end of a quiet street, locals and tourists continue to be attracted to the restaurant despite the location.

Pisano has a remarkable ability to draw in crowds, not only from Florence, but from all around the world.

"We treat people very well, so that they will come back," he said. "The real publicity is not the advertising, the newspapers or the radios but treating people well so that they will encourage other people to come. We have people that send people from Australia and that is a satisfaction."

Despite the fact that eateries like Zio Gigi's can be so welcoming, they still have to compete with chain restaurants, which have the advantage of big advertising and promotion budgets, as well as with the hundreds of other family-owned restaurants in the city.

"Some come here to taste the real food, and some come here just to see the city and don't really care about the food," said Anamaria Cojocare, one of Pisano's head servers. "They will just buy a pizza somewhere. So the competition is very tight."

Cojocare said she sees competition even between Pisano and his cousins because he has many cousins who have their own restaurants.

"Somewhere deep you can see that there is a competition," she said. "They won't show you, they won't let you see that, because they are blood."

Federico Fattorini runs Trattoria Nella, a small family-owned eatery. Fattorini runs the restaurant with his parents and brother. His family is the third to own the restaurant since Nella opened nearly 100 years ago.

Trattoria Nella, near Piazza della Repubblica, is a great choice
for traditional Tuscan cuisine, good steaks and fresh pasta.

"Our restaurant is like a white fly in the sand," Fattorini said, referring to the fact that they are one restaurant among many located in Florence, "There are a lot of restaurants -- maybe too many restaurants for so few people -- so there is a lot of competition."

The competition between smaller, family-owned eateries and larger chain restaurants in Florence forces the smaller eateries to innovate and to emphasize quality.

"We try to find the quality in the food so we don't have to charge such a low price," Fattorini said. "But we don't charge so high in the price, either. We look for quality."

For some eateries, competing against larger restaurants means an emphasis on tradition, good food and a welcoming atmosphere. This is a part of the strategy at Gigi's.

"My boss always says, 'I want them to eat today but I want them to eat tomorrow, as well. I want to earn some money now but I want to earn some money tomorrow,'" states Cojocare, "So we treat the people well so they will come back."

The fact that Florence is constantly changing while at the same time attempting to preserve its history also affects every business owner in the city, including family-owned restaurants.

"Pisano is an old fashioned guy," Cojocare said. "When he came here he didn't change at all. He didn't adapt to the fact that Florence is changing every day and developing. So, I don't think this restaurant will change because of him and the way he is. I hope this restaurant will remain the same."

Regardless of Florence's historic impressions, restaurants like Zio Gigi's and Nella are forced to compensate for the modern advances. In an effort to maintain history, however, these private eateries will continue to remain the same in order to preserve the most important thing to the owners: their restaurants' history and culture.