As the COVID-19 pandemic forces the local restaurant scene into stops and starts, Santelli Pizza & Pasta is quietly coming along at 13557 SR-54 in Odessa. Founders, Ralph and Susan Santell, want to give diners a taste of their Italian heritage while incorporating from-scratch recipes Ralph acquired over the years in the restaurant industry. When CL connected with the Santell family to snag the details on the summer opening, Ralph brought us back to his first job at 15 in Long Island, New York, and his drive to recreate that experience in Tampa Bay.
“I was working with a crew of Italians from Sicily, Taormina and Catania to be exact. I worked there for seven years and learned the value of hard work. The head chef was from an Italian cruise line and made everything, and I mean everything, with his hands—from the sauces and zeppole to butchering an entire leg of veal. The pizzas tossed in the air. It was perfect.”
The mission of Santelli Pizza & Pasta is to give Tampa Bay a piping hot plate of pasta done the right way. Sourcing high-quality ingredients without cutting corners in order to capture the essence of what Ralph calls the “old school technique,” AKA bringing scratch back.
“Everything is about how restaurants can do it cheaper and faster while maintaining semi-quality along the way. It’s just not authentic and you can taste it. At Santelli, quality will be at the heart of every meal we create.”
Ralph’s no stranger to restaurant operations, he’s also the co-founder of Tampa Pizza Co., alongside Dave Burton.
The pizza franchise allowed Ralph to understand the limitations of being part of a restaurant group.
“You have to stay in tandem with the other locations and really lose the freedom to develop special menu items for your customers. Your brand identity belongs to someone else.”
While he’s thankful for the opportunity to hone his skills in the kitchen as well as his business acumen, Ralph’s itch for creativity and individuality is what led him to create Santelli.
When it comes to menu options, the fast-casual restaurant serves iconic Italian dishes. That means calzones, zeppole, pasta with housemade sauces and New York-style pizzas. Being that Italian heritage runs deep in the husband-and-wife duo’s veins, they want to give diners a sense of home when they come to grab a bite. Ralph recalls Sunday dinners from his childhood lasting four-and-half-hours.
“My family would be cooking and eating and then eating again. I vividly remember my mother asking me if I wanted more pasta, I’d say no, and then BOOM, there would be another gigantic scoop of pasta on my plate.”
The family wants diners to free to graze at their own pace, heading back up to the counter to order more dishes along the way. After the carb overload from plates like Cacio e Pepe, bolognese or amatriciana, Santell hopes guests carry on the tradition of a hot cup of coffee to keep the conversation buzzing around the table.
Ralph spills the beans on a patio lined with Italian Cypress trees for outdoor dining once the heat index creeps below three digits while his daughter Melissa tries to leave some mystery to the interior decor of the forthcoming restaurant.
“The interior vibe will be industrial and modern, with warm, personal touches like a floating gallery stocked with family photos. We also want to add pops of neon and Frank Sinatra quotes around the restaurant. I’d love to tell you more but the rest is top secret.”
The family-owned restaurant hopes to welcome diners of all ages for any occasion. While the COVID-19 curve has yet to flatten in the state, it hasn’t stopped Facebook users’ excitement when Santelli drops a post about its progress. Looks like not even a pandemic can stop Tampa Bay foodies’ need for new eats.
It might be a large order to fill, but Santell is up for the challenge, and is making a promise to his future customers.
“This is food you’re going to remember.”
And it won’t be much longer until we can get a taste.
Full disclosure: Melissa Santell, who shoots food photography for CL, is the daughter of Ralph and Susan Santell.
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This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2020.