My name is Gianni Cinelli; I am a 40+ year old married father of three. My little girl Samantha Liza age 10, my son Gianni Nico age 7, my youngest Antonio Brandon age 5 and my lovely wife Randi (we will not mention her age) are the main reasons I am opening Gianni & Gaitano's, along with my life long passion for Italian food.

I came to the United States of America on December 23, 1965 on a ship that left from the port of Naples called Rafaello Michelangelo along with my mother Amelia, my dad Armondo and my two older brothers Giuseppe and Pietro. I was the same age my son Antonio is now. My family comes from a small mountainside town outside of Rome called Monte San Giovanni; it's in the Province of Frosinone and the State of Lazio. This region is famous for its rustic cooking along with all the wonders of the world such as, the coliseum, the Vatican and so on. It is there that my passion for food started and has brought me all the way to North Carolina. In between was a lot of fun.

When I first came here to the United States, my family settled where many of my family and friends from Italy settled, Jamaica Queens, NY. Here we extended our Italian Traditions while embracing our new country. We all had wine cellars in the basements; gardens (more like mini farms) in the backyard and of course our passion for food. You could always hear a spirited argument over whose mother made a better sauce or lasagna. I still say my mother is the best cook. Whoever disagrees with me, meet me in the back! I have fond memories of my childhood, not a lot of money, but great memories none the less. The Italian Feasts, ringing the bell at Friday mass as an altar boy at St. Pius V, making tomato sauce at the end of September (at least 600 jars) and of course making wine in November, they were simple times, but every event including birthdays, communions, confirmations and weddings, the focal point was food, wine and friends. We didn't have a lot of money, but we had the best food and wine. But don't fret about the money, as of today well over 100 people have become self made millionaires from that small town of Monte San Giovanni. (let 60 minutes do a story on that) and no, I am not one of those millionaires. Nor do I care about becoming one! I am dedicating Gianni & Gaitano's to my late father, Armando Cinelli, whom we buried on September 11, 2001 in New York and to those simpler times when food, wine and friends is all we had. A lot more happened in between Queens and North Carolina, such as the addition of my sister Anna Marie and my youngest brother Gaitano, but I am going to save that for a conversation when I sit with you at your table and have a glass of wine and chat. Sounds simple, Eat, Drink and just relax, yes you have entered into Gianni & Gaitano's, a throw back! great food, wine and friends.

Bouno Appetito!