Donatello owner Gino Tiozzo on the restaurant’s 40-year anniversary, cooking Italian food at home
By Dalia Colon
October 24, 2024 at 11:07 AM EDT
Gino Tiozzo, the owner of Donatello in Tampa, reflects on his childhood in Italy, the restaurant's 40 years in business and some of its most notable celebrity guests.
Listen to the episode
What do the rapper Drake, basketball player Magic Johnson and yours truly have in common? We’ve all enjoyed a meal at Donatello in Tampa.
The Italian restaurant was started in 1984 by the late Guido Tiozzo, a native of Venice, Italy. Today, Guido’s son Gino Tiozzo is at the helm, balancing classic Italian dishes with customers’ ever-changing expectations.
This week, The Zest continues our celebration of Italian-American Heritage Month with a visit to Donatello. On a quiet morning, we stopped by the dining room to chat with Gino. In this conversation, he reflects on the restaurant’s 40-year history, reveals the one dish he’ll never take off the menu and offers advice for cooking better Italian meals at home.
What do the rapper Drake, basketball player Magic Johnson and yours truly have in common? We’ve all enjoyed a meal at Donatello in Tampa.
The Italian restaurant was started in 1984 by the late Guido Tiozzo, a native of Venice, Italy. Today, Guido’s son Gino Tiozzo is at the helm, balancing classic Italian dishes with customers’ ever-changing expectations.
This week, The Zest continues our celebration of Italian-American Heritage Month with a visit to Donatello. On a quiet morning, we stopped by the dining room to chat with Gino. In this conversation, he reflects on the restaurant’s 40-year history, reveals the one dish he’ll never take off the menu and offers advice for cooking better Italian meals at home.