LIHU‘E — It’s no surprise Rob Valenti is serving lasagna, cooking sauce, making pizza, talking sports and making friends. They’re the very same things he’s been doing all his life. “Every Saturday night, my father made Sicilian pizza (a rectangular,
LIHU‘E — It’s no surprise Rob Valenti is serving lasagna, cooking sauce, making pizza, talking sports and making friends.
They’re the very same things he’s been doing all his life.
“Every Saturday night, my father made Sicilian pizza (a rectangular, thick pizza endemic to Italian neighborhoods in the northeastern United States). Everybody in my family was always cooking, but nobody actually ever opened a restaurant.”
Till now.
Ah, here is where the cheese hits the pan.
Valenti is the coowner and managing partner of Colenti’s, a restaurant that opened its doors the day after Easter. The restaurant is located in a space adjacent to Borders Books, Music, Movies & Cafe, in Kukui Marketplace, tucked between Hawaiian House and Payless ShoeSource.
Valenti remembers that April date because he thought it would be his last day off for a long time.
And, while he’s been busy, he has been able to take a day off here and there.
“The response has been great, beyond my wildest expectations. I think it’s been so good because there’s been nothing like it here,” he said. “People have been waiting for real pizza. We’ve been getting a lot of return customers,” he said.
Valenti grew up in Watertown, Mass., an ethnically diverse suburb of Boston that boasts some of the best ethnic food in the greater Boston area.
Now, if you like your pizza NewYork-style, (pronounced “New Yawk”), or the basic Northeast style inspired by the mythic Italian neighborhoods from New Haven to Providence to Boston, Colenti’s is the Lihu‘e venue, and Rob Valenti is the man.
He said there are several key factors that make Colenti’s pizza different from others.
“The crust is the key. It has to be thin, very thin. Another thing is the dough. It has to be hand-rolled and tossed,” he said. Then, there is the sauce and cheese. Real East-Coast pizza has that slight, delectable, bubbly sheen of oil, he said.
Ideally, it does not have pineapple on it, but Valenti is nothing if not adaptable and eager to please.
“I tried to replicate what it might be like walking into an East-Coast pizzeria,” he said. In fact, he’s come pretty close. There are black-and-white pictures of family members, loads of Italian products for sale, plus a mural representing an Italian neighborhood that could be anywhere on the East Coast north of Baltimore.
Colenti’s has the aroma, Italian cold cuts, canollis, cheeses, and feel of an Italian restaurant. Colenti’s also has Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee banners on the wall, to inspire “discussions.”
Valenti is a die-hard Bosox fan.
All that’s missing is a bit of urban attitude, a couple of guys saying “how ya doin’?” and some grime.
“Sometimes I think it’s too clean,” he said. “I mean, that’s a nice problem to have.”
Valenti’s expertise is in restaurant and bar management.
He’s been on Kaua‘i for the past 18 years.
His partner, Anthony Colagreco, had the background in pizzeria operations, and Valenti, whose background was more in fine dining, brought the enthusiasm and love of sharing Italian cooking.
The duo came up with a business plan, and waited patiently. “We’d been targeting that spot near Borders Books and Music for a year and a half,” he said. Colenti’s required minimal start-up costs because operators of the former occupant, Wild Bill’s, also served pizza, which meant that the pizza ovens and restaurant infrastructure such as the booths and deli counters were already in place.
Moreover, Valenti did a lot of the renovation work himself, to cut costs even further. Colenti’s expects to recoup start-up costs fairly soon.
“I always wanted to do this (operate a restaurant), but it just took the right time.”
Which brings up the questions, what is Colenti’s, and what will it become in the future as word of mouth spreads?
“We thought (we were) an Italian deli, a pizzeria. But we’ve become a restaurant. In fact, we’re more busy at night than during the day,” he said. Colenti’s does not serve alcoholic beverages, but customers may bring their own.
Valenti said he is considering tinkering with the menu, which includes salads, subs, pasta and deserts, and possibly adding some more traditional dishes, such as polenta.
The only obstacle he had to confront was a lack of help. He said he ran employment advertisements that went unanswered. He said he has as strong crew now.
Valenti is a huge sports fan, as in fanatic. His young son Jake was born, according to military time, at 19:18, or, the last time the Red Sox had won a World Series till they broke through last year.
All in all, Valenti is not that far removed from the boy whose father made pizza, and whose family members talked food and sports, and whose archrival was Belmont High School.
“I’m a happy guy,” Valenti said.
“I’m making good food, listening to Frank Sinatra, talking sports, and getting good responses to what I’m doing.”
