Two Brooklyn boys, Anthony "Tony"
Scotto and Mario Sbarro (yes, that Sbarro, of the 950-restaurants-and-growing
pizza chain) will open the borough’s first Boulder Creek Steakhouse
in early November.
The men met 15 years ago through a mutual friend and in 1995
formed Boulder Creek Ventures based in Melville, NY. Yet both
Scotto and Sbarro immigrated to the United States from Naples,
Italy, as teenagers and settled with their families in Brooklyn.
Scotto’s family settled in Bay Ridge and Sbarro in neighboring
Bensonhurst.
Their company now owns five Boulder Creek Steakhouses on Long
Island, one in Queens and two in northern New Jersey. By 2003,
the company plans to expand into Yonkers, Staten Island, and
add up to four locations in New Jersey.
During a recent conversation, Scotto and Sbarro told GO Brooklyn
their renditions of the evolution of the Boulder Creek Steakhouses
and their own rise in the restaurant world.
"Well, we started on Long Island because we were able to
find the space we needed for the restaurants," Scotto said
matter-of-factly.
Each restaurant seats 210 to 260 diners and needs approximately
7,000 square feet of floor space in addition to 150 parking units.
Besides the large-scale format, the men have made their steakhouses
known by expanding the chain within small geographic areas.
"If you build five or six restaurants in one area, you can
advertise properly, watch them, nurture them and build public
awareness," Scotto explained. "We finally found the
space we needed with the right visibility in Brooklyn,"
he says of their first Brooklyn location at exit 15 off the Belt
Parkway near Starrett City.
Scotto, who developed the concept for the steakhouses, commented,
"I wanted a change from the usual clubby men’s steakhouses
where women and children don’t always feel welcome." (Scotto,
under a separate company, Scotto Brothers Enterprises, owns three
upscale steakhouses – Burton & Doyle’s on Long Island, and
two Rothman’s steakhouses, one on Long Island and one in Manhattan
– that would fall under the "clubby men’s steakhouse"
category.)
The restaurants’ Colorado lodge theme provides "a very warm
and colorful" family atmosphere. The exterior of each restaurant
features stone siding, and the interior decor is ski lodge friendly
with a four-sided fireplace warming the room; comfortable wooden
booths and tables to accommodate family groups; wood-paneled
walls adorned with vintage ski gear; and murals of snowcapped
mountains.
"There’s something for everyone," Scotto says of the
steakhouse’s reasonably priced menu. That includes a selection
of USDA, grain-fed, aged steaks that are priced from $12.95 for
the Kit Carson Sirloin, a 10-ounce, center-cut top sirloin steak,
to $20.50 for the Mountaineer, a 20-ounce porterhouse. Many of
the items associated with a mid-priced steakhouse are offered:
the Boulder blossom, a breaded, deep-fried onion; cheese fries;
a Caesar salad or the Grande chicken Caesar; chicken tenders
and several pasta selections.
For red meat-phobics, Scotto has added several fish choices:
a shrimp scampi over fettuccini; the Blue Lake catch of the day,
a grilled fresh fish filet; and Up The Creek salmon, a grilled
filet with a garlic crust.
How did two local boys make it big in the restaurant business?
Both men agree that a strong work ethic runs second to passion.
"I loved working in my uncle’s restaurant, Romano’s – it’s
still in Bay Ridge, still very good," says Scotto, who at
18 began as a dish washer, then worked his way up through the
restaurant ranks. "I loved it then and I still love what
I do. I have a passion for the restaurant business."
In 1959, Sbarro’s family opened the first Sbarro’s on 65th Street
and 17th Avenue in Bensonhurst. He describes the store as an
"Italian deli" offering house-made sausages and mozzarella.
"We developed a large following for our delicacies and my
mother’s catering. The business just kept growing," Sbarro
said. At 81, Sbarro’s mother Carmela Sbarro still works behind
the counter. Just back from Milan, where he oversaw the opening
of Italy’s first Sbarro pizzeria and restaurant, he commented,
"They love our pizza. We have a great product, and we’ll
do well there."
But why expand into steakhouses, when the pizza-plus formula
has been so successful?
"We’ve been in the quick-service, casual-dining arena for
a long time," Sbarro said. "With our knowledge of the
market, and the broad spectrum of consumers – families to seniors
– who enjoy a good steak, I knew it was the right venture."
How does it feel to be back in Brooklyn?
Both men laughed.
"Well, we never really left. My mother’s still in our first
store," Sbarro said.
Scotto added, "We think our Boulder Creek restaurant will
be a great addition to Brooklyn. Opening this restaurant is a
tremendous feeling. This restaurant feels very special to me."
Boulder Creek Steakhouse at 355 Gateway
Center Drive at Erskine Street in the Gateway Plaza Mall in Spring
Creek is scheduled to open Nov. 4. The restaurant will accept
all major credit cards. For further information, call (718) 277-0222.
Entree range: $12.95-$20.50.
