Thirty-five years ago, Rocco Potami began an after-school job as a dishwasher in a small restaurant in Pizzo Calabro, Italy.  Through the years, Potami’s passion for the restaurant business grew as he worked as server, sommelier and manager in several U.S. and Canadian restaurants.

What were some of your key restaurant roles until now?
My love for the restaurant business was born with that first job in Italy, and I have since made my passion a reality through many ventures.  In the mid-1980s, I was Maitre’d and Manager at Christini’s Restaurant in Orlando, then moved into a partnership at La Via in Winter Park.  In 1988, I was the general manager of the Villa Nova complex in Winter Park, where a new casual restaurant with great food — Baby Nova — was introduced.

What is your vision for Rocco’s Italian Grille?
We have brought a nice variety of exclusive regional dishes of Italy to Rocco’s.  I think guests will be surprised to see our northern Italian Lombata di vitello alla Milanese (a flattened veal chop, lightly breaded and sautéed in extra virgin olive oil and served with fresh diced tomatoes, arugula, raddiccio, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar), our open-faced seafood lasagna, our baked, sea-salt crusted whole fish for two and other dishes of Italy not commonly found in this country.

How will you pair wines with Rocco’s dishes?
You don’t need to spend a fortune to have a good wine – we’re bringing in some nice boutique wines that aren’t big names but are just as wonderful.  Most of our wines will be from Italy and California; and we’ll have some offerings from other regions in South Africa, Australia and South America.

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