Giovanni Prignano hopes his is an immigrant success story. As a young man in Sicignano degli Alburni in Southern Italy, he worked in hotels and restaurants while attending culinary school.  He was 21 when he packed his belongings and moved to America in 2015. He didn’t speak English. 

“I came to this country because I like the opportunity that this country offers. I wanted to learn a different culture. I love to do better and learn as much as I can,” he said. A cousin, Paolo Ricciardi, had restaurant connections in the New York-New Jersey area.