February 24, 2010 Mary-Kate Roan

mkroan@connectstatesboro.com

    Mangiamo is moving. Its new address will be 19 South Main St. Sound familiar? It’s the same vacant spot previously occupied by Hugo’s.
    “We use to go there all the time when we first moved here. Someone told us about it, and we loved the food,” said Carrie Vescio, co-owner of Mangiamo. “But then all of a sudden it closed and we didn’t know why. We actually had called about that building before we called about (the present location).”
    Vescio operates the local restaurant that boasts of authentic, made-from-scratch Italian meals with her sister, Amiee Sannicolas. While the sisters love their present location, they need a bigger space to match the demand.
    “We’re getting busier. We only have seating for 23 in here. That’s it. Maximum capacity is 25 per the Fire Marshall,” said Vescio. “There aren’t enough parking spots in the back, and when you go back there sometimes it’s like bumper cars. It’s very difficult for people to get in and out of here. We didn’t think that. We thought, ‘Great location; lot of flow of traffic; people will see it and they will come in.’ It actually discouraged people from coming in here. That led us to downtown a little bit further.”
    The move, Vescio says, will hopefully increase the foot traffic and overall business. There are a few things that will be changing, though. For example, they’re getting a pouring license.
    “We are getting a pouring license. We have applied for it. We’re applying for a beer and wine pouring license,” said Vescio. “Our menu will expand. We’re going to put some of the favorite items that we’ve had as specials here or more requested items we’re going to have there. We will be serving some French fries and fried foods as well. We didn’t have the ability to have a fryer because of the space limitations.”
    Their hours will also be seeing some changes. Mangiamo will be open Monday thru Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. then close from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will then re-open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays it will only be open for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. It will be closed on Sundays.
    “All the way around the board, we will have more choices,” said Vescio of the changes. “We think we’re going to appeal to more people.”
    As it is now, students and the 55-and-older crowd get a 10-percent discount. Churches and ministries also get a 10-percent discount. That’s one thing that won’t change.
    But of all the changes coming up, the best change for the sisters will be the employees.
    “We’ll have employees for the first time,” said Vescio. “It will be a pleasure, believe me. It’s been just the two of us. It gets to be very hectic.”
    While plans were to have business up and running in time for March’s First Friday, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen after running into inspection issues from the building being left dormant for so long. However, it’s nothing they can’t handle.
    “The inspectors were very cooperative and they were awesome. They told us what we needed,” said Vescio, who pointed out the spotless nature of the current building and added she would maintain those standards. “They were very straight-forward, and now it was just a matter of getting stuff fixed that needed to be fixed. And now it is, and we’re almost at the end.”
    The sisters want Mangiamo to keep its family appeal to people. The menu came from their family, and they want the atmosphere to reflect that.
    “One of the kids we actually hired and are training told one of his friends today that you feel like you’re coming home when you come here,” said Vescio. “Our main objective is to serve people good food and serve them well and when they leave our establishment we want them to think, ‘Wow I can’t wait to go back.’”
    So far, their business plans have been working; they have a loyal following of customers. You can do call ahead ordering or order it as part of the Boro Takeout Express (www.borotakeout.com). Mangiamo can be reached at 489-2332.

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