Looking Back & Moving Forward: Bell RD. With Anthony Spinato

As I approached the month of May, I looked forward with great excitement and sadness. This month is the last month that our Spinato's location of 33-years on Bell Rd will be open. It is the last existing location from our humble beginnings, from my teenage days of growing up in the business, where I learned on the fly how to lead, and truly "cut my teeth" as a restaurant trainer, manager, and operator. 

Many of you may not know this, but this location opened up as a franchise of Spinato's. We opened it in 1993, when I was 18. I was put in charge of training the franchisee and their staff. A year later, I left this location to open our third Spinato's in Central Phoenix. I felt by this time, the team and franchise owner were in a great position to run and operate their restaurant. 

Not long after I stepped away, our Bell location started running into some issues. Guests who lived nearby began making the drive down to our Tempe restaurant instead, because my parents were there, and they knew they could count on the true Spinato's experience that had been missing at Bell. Before long, it became clear that our franchise partners weren't aligned with our family's goals. So, we made the decision to take back ownership of our first franchise. My dad put my sister and me in charge. I was about 20, Nicole was 22, and just like that, we found ourselves running one of our restaurants.

At this stage in life, I was in college and really didn't want to make a career out of the family business. I was going to school to be an architect. I loved architecture growing up, and in my mid-teens picked up a golf club for the first time and immediately fell in love with not only the game but the strategic design of a golf course, hole by hole.  

But being in charge of a restaurant at the same time didn't allow a ton of room to go to school, nor to play golf. I stayed in my role as a manager at this location, not against my will, but because I knew my family needed my help and honestly couldn't afford to pay anyone else what Nicole and I were getting paid to manage this restaurant. A few years in, I had to give up college and my pursuit of becoming an architect due to the long hours and 6-day work weeks.

Now in my mid-twenties, the grind was real, the responsibility overwhelming, and I really had very little preparation to lead a restaurant of people. Sure, I knew how to do everything, but doing things correctly versus getting other people to do things correctly isn't exactly simple. Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less, but I did not understand that yet. I thought I had to do everything…isn't that what a boss does? I wanted to give up because I was not very good at getting others to do their job. I can honestly say I would have given up if this weren't my family's business. It would have been very easy to walk away and give up. But I stayed the course, never gave up, and as a result, I fell in love with hospitality, leading others and helping them to grow! It didn't happen overnight, as nothing really does. My Dad always says, "Son, Rome wasn't built in a day." 

Over the next decade, a lot happened at our Bell Road location. We outgrew the current kitchen space and took over the space next door. We expanded our kitchen, added new menu items, and added our first beer & wine bar. We upgraded our décor to the space, wait for it, lattice and fake grape vines! So very Chicago and Italian of us, our roots were on display, and we were so proud. Next, I was able to redesign the look of the menu and, with that, added some new menu items. 

We also hired a few team members in their early teens, named Terry Wiberg and Matt Foy. Terry has been with us for 25 years and is our Food & Beverage Director, and Matt Foy is now one of our District Managers. During that same time, we hired Maria Lindner, who is a famous server (and still to this day is famous). She is our office receptionist at our HQ and also supports our catering department. I must also mention that at this specific location, we have servers, cooks, managers, and leads who have been working and supporting that location or other locations for decades. We must have over 150 years of Spinato's experience within the core of our staff!

In addition to these great team members and relationships, this is the location where I met my wife. Her family was guests of ours, and some of her friends got jobs at Spinato's. After we dated and were married, she went to the Arizona Culinary School and was an honors graduate. A few years later, she joined our family business as one of our executive chefs. My dad always said no to my sister and my new recipes or menu items, but my wife, Jaime, well, she was able to soften him up and got a lot of his blessings for new menu items. Now, Jaime focused on our restaurant design and outreach within the communities we serve. 

As we get closer to the end of 3 decades of delivering the Spinato's Experience at 1614 E Bell Rd, there will be tears shed. After all, it is where I became who I am today. It is why Spinato's is what it is today, and after letting go of my dream of becoming an architect, I got to see God's original plan for me work itself out, just a few decades in the making. I have been blessed with the ability to become an architect of each restaurant we have built over the past 20 years, starting with the small kitchen and bar expansion at Bell Road Spinato's. I was able to become an architect of a new menu and new menu items, eventually leading to the larger menu we serve at Spinato's today. I have been able to be an architect of the wonderful culture we have today, while helping build up and grow so many wonderful people who are still with us, and many who have moved on from our company. None of this would have ever happened without a franchisee that didn't want to follow our family's standards, learning on the fly, and meeting so many people who make us what we are today. Back then, taking over a restaurant for the reason I explained, it couldn't have created a bigger problem for us. Today, it has led to the greatest blessing, living out my passion and purpose serving our family, our extended family (our staff), and the people we get out of bed for every day. The most amazing, passionate, and loyal guests that a brand could ever have. 

So, the saying stands true, "Rome (our Spinato's Bell Rd location) was built and evolved over 33 amazing years, including 12 months of a painstaking buildout. We will finally have our new Rome! For me, I will always remember and cherish every brick laid that got us here. For our staff and guests, I know some of it may fade over time, and new memories of more generations of family will gather, work, and connect, and for that reason, I am excited for the new legacy it will have for so many.

~Anthony Spinato

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