Staying Hungry

Chris Vetter built Sail Away Coffee in Deer Park on $2,000 of savings, no investors, and nitro cold brew on tap before most of Long Island knew what cold brew was. This is Staying Hungry.

A tour through Central America turned a touring guitarist into a coffee obsessive. Ten years later Sail Away roasts in Yaphank, ships out of Deer Park, and sells mostly across the tri-state through distributors, with a team that has run anywhere from three to ten people. Chris gets into cans versus kegs, why one coffee tap opens up a bar's whole beverage program, why he still hasn't opened a store, the Beachball tea line at 4 grams of sugar, and why Starbucks did him a favor.

Run a bar or restaurant? Watch the coffee-on-tap section at 16:39 before your next menu change. Subscribe for a new Long Island operator every other Monday.

Chris Vetter / Sail Away Coffee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sailawaycoffee/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sail-away-coffee

Staying Hungry

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stayinghungrypodcast/

All links: https://linktr.ee/stayinghungrypodcast

Timestamps:

00:00 | Chris Vetter and Sail Away Coffee

00:50 | From Touring Musician to Coffee

05:33 | What Cold Brew Actually Is

06:56 | Farmers Markets to Cans

08:29 | Where the Name Came From

12:06 | Lean Team, Big Reach

16:39 | Cans vs. Kegs and Coffee on Tap

20:45 | The Non-Alc Opportunity

22:56 | How Big Is Cold Brew?

24:11 | Instagram and Growing a Community

26:46 | Flavors, Lattes and Roasting In-House

29:54 | Why No Storefront (Yet)

32:25 | Bootstrapped From $2,000

35:57 | Beachball Cold Brewed Tea

40:34 | The Next Five Years

45:15 | Stepping Away Makes It Better

48:52 | Dunkin', Starbucks and the Gateway

55:50 | Expensive Lessons

Welcome to Staying Hungry! What started as a small family deli in New Hyde Park has grown into one of Long Island's most talked-about chicken finger businesses. But behind Dom's Famous Chicken Fingers is a story of hard work, family values, and over 30 years of building customer loyalty.

In this episode, hosts Michael D'Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Vinny Grosso of Dom's Deli and Dom's Famous Chicken Fingers to discuss how his father's original chicken finger recipe became a local sensation, growing from just 80 pounds of chicken a week to a staggering 10,000 pounds for the Super Bowl.

Vinny shares the secrets behind their signature honey mustard, how word-of-mouth marketing built a loyal following without traditional advertising, and the challenges of expanding from a neighborhood deli into a standalone chicken finger concept in Plainview. They also discuss managing employees, running food trucks, maintaining food quality, and the possibility of turning Dom's into a national franchise.

For restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs, this episode is a reminder that great food gets customers through the door, but exceptional hospitality keeps them coming back.

Timestamps:

00:00 | Introduction to Vinny Grosso and Dom's Famous Chicken Fingers 

00:53 | How Dom's Deli Started in 1995

3:23 | Growing Up in the Family Restaurant Business

11:10 | The Secret Behind Dom's Famous Chicken Fingers

12:15 | From 80 Pounds to 10,000 Pounds of Chicken

16:35 | Building a Business Through Word of Mouth

20:23 | The Signature Honey Mustard Recipe

23:10 | Expanding to Plainview and Beyond

26:24 | Using Social Media to Grow the Brand

29:46 | How Community Loyalty Helped Save the Business

36:46 | Managing Staff and Maintaining Customer Experience

41:30 | Why a Simple Menu Works

46:01 | The Reality of Working 70–80 Hours a Week

53:27 | Food Trucks, Catering, and Franchise Opportunities

55:34 | Vinny's Vision for National Expansion

Staying Hungry is back with another episode! Hosts Michael D'Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Marcello Erickson, the owner of No Good Burger Joint, to talk about the relentless work ethic, discipline, and determination behind building a successful Long Island restaurant brand.

From starting as a busboy at 13 to building a family-run burger business with multiple locations and five food trucks, Marcello shares how he turned his passion for hospitality into a growing operation. He breaks down the challenges of managing food trucks, handling high-volume festivals, expanding into new markets, and maintaining consistency as the business grows.

The conversation also covers how No Good Burger Joint survived COVID through community support, why Marcello refuses to franchise, how he uses ChatGPT for restaurant design, and why social media popularity means nothing without great food and service.

For restaurant owners and entrepreneurs, this episode delivers a valuable lesson: success isn't about who gets the most attention. It's about who puts in the work when nobody's watching.

00:00 – Introduction to Marcello Erickson

0:54 – From Busboy to Restaurant Owner

5:35 – The Story Behind No Good Burger Joint

10:16 – Building a Family-Owned Burger Business

13:01 – Surviving COVID and Supporting the Community

17:47 – Expanding Into Five Food Trucks

20:10 – The Challenges of Food Truck Operations

23:40 – Why Consistent Revenue Matters

27:53 – Running Food Operations at Major Festivals

32:00 – Why Marcello Refuses to Franchise

37:33 – Using ChatGPT to Design a New Restaurant

44:00 – The Importance of Hospitality and Leadership

50:03 – Why Nobody Was Going to Outwork Him

53:01 – Balancing Marriage and Restaurant Ownership

58:32 – Why Social Media Hype Isn't Enough

60:31 – Building a Brand That Stands on Its Own

Staying Hungry gets into the side of restaurant ownership customers rarely see.

Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Maria and Michael Cassano of American Beauty to talk about building restaurants from the ground up, surviving near-failure, navigating COVID, managing staff, working with your spouse, and learning when growth can actually hurt the business.

Maria and Michael share how American Beauty went from struggling to keep the lights on to becoming a successful local concept—and why great food alone isn’t enough. They break down the importance of service, social media, customer retention, hands-on ownership, and knowing when you’re stretched too thin.

For restaurant owners and hospitality professionals, this episode is a look at the pressure, mistakes, wins, and resilience behind running an independent restaurant.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Maria & Michael Cassano of American Beauty

04:00 – Michael’s path into the restaurant business

11:00 – Building American Beauty from the ground up

17:00 – Nearly closing the restaurant

21:00 – Pivoting during COVID

27:00 – Expansion, partnerships & costly lessons

36:00 – The reality of being a restaurant owner

41:00 – Working with your spouse

49:00 – Why restaurant management is so difficult

55:00 – Great service vs. great food

1:03:00 – Social media & restaurant marketing

1:14:00 – Why expansion can hurt your business

1:24:00 – Rising restaurant costs & shrinking margins

1:32:00 – The emotional side of restaurant ownership

1:37:00 – Advice for restaurant owners

Rob Cervoni of Taglio: From Pizzeria Roots to Chopped Win, Roman-Style Pizza, and Building a Long Island Brand.

Rob Cervoni of Taglio joins Staying Hungry to trace his hospitality start at Center Pizza as a teen, his business degree, and running a 16 Handles franchise for years before pursuing his goal of opening a pizzeria. Inspired by Roman-style “weigh and pay” pizza in Italy and guidance from consultants, he adapted the concept for Long Island by offering an eight-slice half-tray “pie” format and adding New York-style slices to meet local expectations, helping Taglio survive the 2018 Roman pizza boom. 

He explains how a Chopped DM led to a 2023 win that boosted business and pushed him into on-camera social content, including the viral “spatula mic.” Rob discusses expansion to Massapequa Park, adding a bar for margins and seating, industry learning via expos, debates around bromated/bleached flour and fermentation, using AI for recipes/marketing, competition, collabs, and the pressures of an online persona.

00:00 Meet Rob Cervoni

00:12 First Pizzeria Job

01:30 Falling for Pizza

03:27 College and Business Lessons

04:41 Frozen Yogurt Franchise Era

07:14 Roman Pizza Inspiration

09:13 Making Roman Work Here

11:52 Chopped Breakthrough

14:53 Social Media and Spatula Mic

17:45 Expansion and Bar Strategy

26:20 Pizza Mentors and Expos

29:41 Flour Bromate Debate

32:22 Why Ingredients Matter

33:18 Athlete Pizza Testimony

34:36 Marketing and Persona

36:02 Respecting Pizza Legends

38:13 Bromate Choice Argument

41:28 Bagels and Fermentation

43:18 Dough Prep and Waste

44:42 AI and Pizza Tech

47:45 Twirly Hands Storytime

49:50 Expansion and Competition

55:24 Collabs and Detroit Style

58:32 Pizza Wars and Publicity

01:00:21 Kids and Pizza Life

01:01:50 Underrated Overrated Bits

01:02:12 Montauk vs Upstate

01:02:56 Wife and the Business

01:04:53 Haters and Real Life

01:07:47 Pizza Wars Goes Dark

01:08:46 Chasing the High

01:10:42 Instagram Persona Explained

01:17:25 Competition and Expansion

01:23:00 Pizza Truck Plans

01:26:08 Final Thoughts and Invite

Staying Hungry sits down with Brandon Porcasi of Curbside Mexican Grill to break down how a restaurant that nearly ran out of runway turned a 13-inch Crunchwrap into its signature product—and a social media magnet.

Brandon joins Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo to share how Curbside grew from one South Hempstead location to two stores, why COVID unexpectedly helped save the business, and how Crunchwraps went from an off-menu special to one of the brand’s biggest draws. Their oversized 13-inch version became especially valuable on social media, where Brandon saw its potential to grab attention and bring new customers through the door.

They also get into the less glamorous side of restaurant ownership: food costs, labor, third-party delivery fees, menu engineering, catering, and the challenge of scaling a concept without making operations too complicated. Brandon even explains how he’s using AI to track changing ingredient costs and build his own point-of-sale system.For restaurant owners, this episode is a practical look at turning a standout menu item into a marketing weapon while still keeping an eye on margins, operations, and repeat business.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Brandon Porcasi & Curbside Mexican Grill

04:00 – Starting a restaurant with friends and family

09:00 – Why they chose Mexican food

13:00 – How COVID helped save Curbside

20:00 – Opening the second location

25:00 – The 13-inch Crunchwrap becomes a secret weapon

30:00 – Restaurant influencers and social media marketing

35:00 – Menu engineering and the Curbside food challenge

40:00 – Third-party delivery and converting customers direct

47:00 – Why a bigger menu makes scaling harder

55:00 – Labor costs, food costs, and pricing mistakes

1:00:00 – Using AI to monitor restaurant costs

1:08:00 – Building a custom restaurant POS system

1:18:00 – The realities of restaurant ownership

1:25:00 – What’s next for Brandon and Curbside

Staying Hungry sits down with Rob Neumann, founder of Wicked Waffles, to break down one of the smartest food truck business models we’ve seen.

Rob shares how a catering-hall concept became a home-based waffle business, why he bought and rebuilt a tiny food truck from Florida, and how he moved away from unpredictable street fairs in favor of profitable private events. He also explains how low overhead, minimal labor, limited waste, social media marketing, and a specialty product helped Wicked Waffles grow organically.

For restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs, this episode is a practical look at food truck costs, private-event catering, work-life balance, influencer marketing, menu development, and knowing when not to open a brick-and-mortar location.

Timestamps

00:00 – Rob’s motivation for changing his career

01:05 – From culinary school to executive chef

07:40 – How the Wicked Waffles idea started

13:20 – Selling the first waffle boxes

17:15 – Buying a food truck through Facebook Marketplace

22:10 – Why public food truck events were not profitable

27:05 – Switching to private parties and corporate events

33:20 – Building a low-labor, low-waste business model

39:15 – Why a storefront may not be the right next step

45:10 – Growing through Instagram, Facebook, and food influencers

51:30 – Weddings, minimum bookings, and seasonal demand

58:10 – What makes Liege waffles different

1:04:20 – Wicked Waffles’ most popular flavors

1:10:05 – Family, work-life balance, and future growth

1:16:15 – Advice for aspiring chefs and food truck owners

Staying Hungry is back with an episode every restaurant owner, pizza lover, and food entrepreneur should watch.

This week, Michael D'Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Pier Dario Carosi, owner of Dario's Pizza, to break down how a single pizza shop turned a viral Philly cheesesteak into one of Long Island's hottest menu items. From growing up in his family's bakeries in Italy to building a cult following through quality ingredients, social media, and relentless consistency, Dario shares what it really takes to scale a restaurant without sacrificing the product that got you there.

The conversation dives into sourdough fermentation, premium ingredients, building repeat customers, managing food costs, opening a second location, and why great restaurants are built on systems - not shortcuts. Whether you're a restaurant owner, aspiring operator, or just obsessed with great pizza, this episode is packed with practical lessons.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

01:30 – From Italy to Long Island

06:15 – Why ingredient quality always wins

12:10 – The bromate debate and modern pizza

19:40 – How a cheesesteak became a viral sensation

27:15 – Social media vs. product quality

34:00 – Opening a second Dario's location

41:45 – Managing consistency across multiple stores

49:30 – Sourdough, fermentation & pizza science

59:20 – Scaling without losing authenticity

1:09:10 – Technology, AI & restaurant operations

1:18:00 – Viral marketing, Portnoy & Good Morning America

1:28:20 – Building a restaurant brand for the future

1:39:30 – Final thoughts

Staying Hungry is back with one of our most impactful conversations yet.

In this episode, Michael D'Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Randi Shubin Dresner, President & CEO of Island Harvest Food Bank, to uncover the reality of food insecurity on Long Island. From serving more than 240,000 people each year to rescuing millions of pounds of food, Randi shares how Island Harvest is transforming lives through nutrition, workforce development, food rescue, and community partnerships.

If you're a restaurant owner, food distributor, or hospitality professional, this episode offers valuable insight into how the industry can reduce food waste, give back locally, and make a lasting impact while building stronger communities.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction to Randi Shubin Dresner & IslandHarvest

03:20 – How a childhood of volunteering became a lifelong mission

09:15 – The hidden reality of hunger on Long Island

16:45 – Helping children and families beyond food banks

24:30 – Workforce development and breaking the cycle of hunger

33:20 – Nutrition, healthy eating & Food as Medicine

42:15 – Food rescue, restaurant partnerships & reducing waste

54:40 – How businesses can support Island Harvest

1:03:30 – Taste of the Harvest & annual fundraising events

1:11:10 – The future of Island Harvest and final thoughts

Staying Hungry sits down with Augie of Cardinali Bakery, the family business behind the bread served at many of Long Island's top restaurants.

From supplying restaurants across Long Island and NYC to never compromising on quality, Augie shares what it takes to build a trusted wholesale bakery. The conversation covers artisan bread, customer service, family business, scaling operations, and why doing things the right way always wins.

Whether you're a restaurant owner, chef, or food entrepreneur, this episode is packed with valuable insights on growing a successful food business.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:10 The story behind Cardinali Bakery

11:45 Growing through wholesale

26:10 Bread quality & ingredients

46:05 Serving Long Island's top restaurants

1:11:30 Family business & leadership

1:34:10 The future of the bakery