| The lunch rush had passed, but still a steady flow of customers filed through the door.
Chef Robert Cardoos worked fast, cutting up a chicken breast for a Caesar salad. He's an old hand at the food game, but his newest venture, Pignoli, has been open for only two weeks.
"Opening day was excitingly busy," said Cardoos' wife and business partner, Barbara Alls-house. "We've had steady traffic since then. I think Cape Coral has been waiting for this."
The Italian word for "pinenut" Pignoli (pronounced pin-yoli) is part gourmet grocery, part takeout, and caters to people who want food fast but crave something better than fast food.
"We have a passion for food," Cardoos said. "We also have a passion in dealing with the community. We love the customers. We're almost running up, kissing them."
Cardoos has worked in the food industry his entire life. He grew up working in restaurants in Massachusetts and eventually owned a chain of 17 gourmet shops with his brother. They gave up their stores in the 1980s and helped develop gourmet specialty areas in one of New England's largest chains, Stop & Shop.
"What was once a specialty, you can now find in a supermarket," Cardoos said. "Now, we've come full circle. There is an educated public that wants more than walking in and getting something off the shelf."
Pignoli is already developing a steady base of repeat customers, who come in for everything from the Louisiana bourbon beef to the curried cauliflower. A few of the shop's menu items are a constant, but most change from day to day, based on available ingredients and the chefs' whim.
"Everything is homemade from scratch and we're proud of that," Bill Mann said. Mann serves as the shop's executive chef.
Mann said he and Cardoos often come up with items that have a surprise ingredient or something different from similar products. For example, one of the key ingredients in their shrimp salad is a Thai sweet chili mayonnaise.
|
"It's not like anything you will find anywhere else," Mann said.
Pignoli is located on the promenade side of the Cape Harbour shops, which means boaters dock their boat and head directly into the store. Once inside they can peruse the wine area, buy cold cuts, cheese and prepared salads and side dishes by the pound, or they can order and wait while the staff prepares sandwiches and salads by hand.
Customers Allen Jones and Eric Sargent first came to Pignoli to install a sound system and have returned almost daily, just to eat.
"I've had that, and that and that," Jones said, pointing to various side dishes in the case. "It's all great."
Sargent said the pair went to another fast food restaurant one day but found the prices were the same, without the same quality.
"So, we're back here," he said.
An added bonus is that the staff is getting to know them.
"It's like 'Cheers,'" Sargent said.
Cardoos and Allshouse initially moved to Cape Coral to retire but are currently putting in 12- to 15-hour days at the shop, and also own Yummies, a small candy store at the Cape Harbour shops. They are already thinking about a second location and expanding into the catering side of the food business.
"We saw a vision of what this company can do," Mann said. "And the creativity is there, from a chef's point of view. No one's watching over your shoulder. You're able to create."
For Allshouse, the long road ahead is made easier by the customers who are already returning for a gastric hit.
"There's a connection there," she said. "I like knowing our customers by name."
|
