Pasquale’s Pizzeria – A Local Favorite for Authentic Italian Flavor
In Rochester, Minnesota, we have a number of authentic local restaurants, ranging in cuisine from Thai and Latin American styles to Chinese and Filipino fare. We decided to take a bite out of the food scene and highlight one of our fantastic neighbors, Pasquale Presa, owner of Pasquale’s Neighborhood Pizzeria!
For years, Chef Pasquale has delighted us with his authentic New York-style pizzas. This year, we want to highlight special vendors in our holiday gift collection. For 2024, we’re bringing a taste of Italy closer to home with his famous marinara sauce, Italian herb seasoning, spaghettoni pasta, and one of our most popular gift offerings, his Pure Puglia Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Pasquale's family's fourth-generation olive orchards in Grumo Appula are one part of his story, but there is much more! If you know one thing about Italian culture, you know they like to work hard and have good conversations. That’s just what we did. Read more below from our one-on-one visit with him.
Neighborly: How did you get started with your business at Pasqule's Pizzeria?
Pasquale: "We decided to open up a small pizza shop. It was my first job when I was 11 years old, so I wanted to come back to something that really made me happy — as a young kid and now as an adult.”
Neighborly: Tell us about your background.
Pasquale: "I didn't get my master's, I didn't get my bachelor's. I learned through the school of hard knocks. I went to culinary school and put myself through it. I never got help paying for it and learned from others around me including my friend, Ralph who is still with me today.
When my brother and I came from Italy, we met Ralph and his brother in Spring Valley, New York. My brother and his brother were good friends and started working at a pizza shop. When I was eleven years old, it was my first job, and I went to work for him, too. I came from middle school and would wash all the dishes. Once I washed all the dishes, he would teach me how to make pizza. From there, he taught me the entire business."
Neighborly: Who would you say is your biggest role model?
Pasquale: "There are a lot! My biggest role models are actually my parents because they come from a really poor family. My dad, growing up in the Mussolini era, wanted to give his kids a better life, so he saved all his money and applied for the visa. We came to America as young kids, and he always said, ‘This is his gift, and it's up to us.’”
Neighborly: What is the most rewarding part about running Pasquale's?
Pasquale: "For me, it is about being involved in the community and seeing the smiles on people's faces, and them being shocked that in the middle of the country, we are able to make the best New York-style pizza. And they feel nostalgic when they come for care here in the Med City."
Neighborly: What is the hardest part about the work you do?
Pasquale: "The hardest part is always managing people. Because everyone comes from all sorts of backgrounds and a lot of times we have to be able to work with everybody's needs. That is why we give lots of people opportunities with all different backgrounds, skill sets and abilities."
Neighborly: Why is it so important to have your olive oil come from your family olive orchard in Italy?
Pasquale: "For me I grew up in that environment and I never thought our family was capable of doing that and bringing it here to the States. We wanted to share the true meaning of food.
During the pandemic, one of my biggest fears was that I was going to fail. So, I bought out my partners because they were very scared and thought it was going to be the end of the world. For me, it gave me a feeling of ‘We can't fail because we come from nothing" so how much worse can it get?’ That is how we overcome it. We are self-dependent."
Neighborly: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
Pasquale: "Success comes with time, it comes with practice, it comes with years of knowledge. As you can see, it happens whether you are in sports, whether you are a chef, whether you are an attorney or a doctor. You can't just start performing open heart surgery. It all takes time.
I think what is important is that if you have a will in your heart to do something you can figure it out."
