Mario Batali's Business Partner: Succeeding In Restaurants Is About Nickels And Dimes, Not Dollars
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Until recently, Joe Bastianich was the lesser known partner of the super successful B&B Hospitality Group, the company he started with celebrity chef Mario Batali.
The duo opened Babbo Ristorante e Enoteca in 1998, and since then has gone on to open over 20 restaurants around the world – from New York and Las Vegas to Hong Kong and Singapore. The groups most famous restaurants include The Spotted Pig, Del Posto, Esca, and Lupa, among others.
These days Bastianich has grown into a bit of a celebrity himself.
He is a judge on both the Fox reality TV show Master Chef and its Italian counterpart Master Chef Italia. He also published a book – "Restaurant Man"– a memoir about his journey from the child of blue collar, Italian immigrant restaurant owners to an international restaurateur.
We recently caught up with Bastianich at Eataly, the Italian marketplace in New York's Flatiron district, and he shared with us some tips on making it in the very competitive restaurant industry.
Produced by Robert Libetti