Business Profile: Amore Ristorante, Mahopac
Along Route 6 in Mahopac, when customers walk into Amore Ristorante, they might mistakenly believe they took a trip oversees to a fine Italian eatery. While that isn’t the case, the food served makes it seem that way.
Amore Ristorante, which opened at the start of this month, is striving to serve the most authentic Italian food possible, owner Sergio Ragosta said. Ragosta believes the area was in need of more fine dining locations offering Italian cuisine, including wood fire pizza.
“We try to keep the taste of Italy back here in the area,” Ragosta said.
The wood fire oven in the restaurant is part of Neapolitan culture that cooks pizza in less than a minute. When a customer eats a couple slices of pizza from a regular oven, they might feel stuffed, but with a wood fire prepared pizza packed with fresh, natural ingredients, a customer can eat a couple slices and feel light, he said. The flour used with the pizza is actually imported from Italy. Because of the high temperature of the oven–about 800 degrees–the pizza pie is a little softer than the usual pie patrons are accustomed to.
With many Italian-Americans living in the area, settling along Route 6 in Mahopac seemed ideal, Ragosta said, noting his pizza chef is from Italy.
“My dream was always to do a Neapolitan pizzeria in the United States,” Ragosta said. “With this bigger location, I thought this could be a good spot to do it.”
Ragosta can trace his interest and experience in the food business back to when he was 13-years-old. His father was actually a chef so Ragosta would follow him around the kitchens he worked. Watching his father made him fall in love with preparing and cooking food.
Though he didn’t go to culinary school, he learned a lot from his father and then when he turned 18, he went back to Italy to train and travel to different Italian hotspots like Rome and Milan to become a better chef.
Once he came back to the United States, he decided to open his first restaurant in 2005.
“I really like the industry,” he said. “It’s a passion, not just a job.”
Ragosta actually opened two restaurants in Italy. He eventually sold them because he wanted to return to the UnitedStates with his wife and two children to ensure they have the best future. He also currently has a restaurant in Connecticut.
Though he’s a proud American, when Ragosta walks into his new restaurant, it’s a gentle reminder where he spent part of life and the culture he cherishes.
“I bring my dream inside, even living in the US, when you step into the restaurant, it’s everything very Italian from the food to the products, from the equipment to the staff, we try to follow the routine,” he said.
Amore Ristorante is located at 376 Route 6 in Mahopac and its phone number is 845-628-6208.
