Dominic

1. What does the concept of dining mean to you?

It’s a celebration! Think about it, you dine out if it’s a birthday, you dine out if it’s an anniversary, you dine out if you land a job… and to provide a place, vibe, and food for people who come to celebrate the different milestones and moments of life, that’s my passion. It’s more than a business, it’s how I feel my life is worth living. 

2. What is Luigi?

It’s the name of the franchise of my restaurants. It’s an Italian word that means a famous warrior. At first glance, there’s not really a direct connection between the name and the restaurant. It’s more personal to me than to the concept of fine dining. I’ve gone through quite a lot to get to where I am, and I had to fight my way through it.

3. Tell us one thing we don’t know about you?

I used to have a headful of hair a couple of years ago, haha. People think baldness is my preferred hairstyle, but I used to have thick and shiny hair. But, I got this strange condition called alopecia areata that would create bald spots at certain places, and it really gave me a complex. So, I shaved my head off and I kinda like it this way now.

4. What brings you joy or makes you happy?

Well, profitable turnovers. Kidding! What truly brings me joy is when people who meet at one of my restaurants fall in love and start a family, and they visit the restaurant on their anniversaries. I know it’s a very specific event, but it just happened the other day I was lucky enough to run into their celebration. It felt great!

5. What do you do in your free time?

Well, I visit other popular restaurants to see what my rivals are up to. I’m joking, we’re all good friends in the fraternity, but I do visit other restaurants for the experience and learn a lot from it as well. Basically, I love dining out. It’s more than enjoying a meal or two together. Strangely, my favorite thing is to dine alone, it gives you a lot of perspectives.