Tuscan Roots

His new restaurant, Tuscan Bar & Grill, 3631 E. Sunshine in the Eastgate shopping center, features several menu items from Ruggeri’s, an Italian steakhouse in St. Louis where Parrino held his first cooking job.

It’s been a long journey from cook in St. Louis to restaurant owner in Springfield for Parrino, who opened J Parrino’s Pasta & Bar in The Galleria on East Battlefield Road 23 years ago. He sold the restaurant to Kenneth Rigby in 2000; Rigby had been a waiter at the restaurant since 1991.

“We couldn’t find a whole lot of the raw product that we needed,” Parrino said of his beginnings as a Springfield restaurant owner in 1983. “We couldn’t get (artichoke hearts) through the purveyors that we used. Fresh-grated Parmesan was another one. So there were weekly trips to St. Louis, back to The Hill to pick up things for the following week.”

At that time, Parrino said there “weren’t a lot of ethnic foods in the area.” That was a challenge because Parrino wanted to offer more authentic Italian fare – not the clichés most people thought of as Italian.

“When we first opened up, I didn’t put spaghetti on the menu, just because when people think of Italian food, that’s what people think of,” he said. “It’s spaghetti and meatballs, checkered tablecloths and Chianti bottles with the candle and wax dripping down the side.”

Instead he offered fettuccine Alfredo and toasted ravioli – dishes that were, at the time, unique to the area.

Taste of Italy

Now, Parrino is putting his desire for authenticity to work at Tuscan Bar & Grill, opened July 1. The eatery focuses specifically on dishes and wines commonly served in Italy’s northern region of Tuscany, where he still has family.

“I have cousins that live in the Tuscan region, and I have family that lives in the south (of Italy),” he said. “When everyone’s together there’s always a mixture of meats and cheeses and it’s a little bit of a battle – there’s influences from both sides.”

Parrino declined to disclose the cost involved in opening the new restaurant, which he said focuses more on northern Italian dishes, such as meats and grilled foods – one of many changes in direction from his namesake establishment.

“The only similarity (between the two) is that they’re both Italian,” he says. “I don’t have nearly as many pastas on the menu here. We’re really trying to promote the grilled items.”

He added that nearly all of the wines offered at Tuscan Grill are from northern Italy. The menu also features items grilled in what he calls “Philadelphia” style – charred on the outside and rare on the inside.

Pasta past

Parrino’s long history of bringing Italian tastes to Springfield also includes Pasta Pronto and Pasta Express.

Parrino operates Pasta Pronto on South National Avenue, while franchisees Frank and Cindy Stevens and Roger Evans run a second location on West Republic Road.

Parrino sold his share of Pasta Express to business partner Bob Ikemeier in 1999; in October 2004, the business was sold to Matt Krupa, who is now looking to expand the company with additional franchises.

“Once I bought the franchise, I redesigned the concept and revamped the whole franchise system itself,” Krupa said. “That’s what we’re building now.”

Despite the large number of restaurants in Springfield, Parrino says he’s not too worried about the viability of his new establishment.

“I’d be silly to say the number of restaurants doesn’t worry me. But I think there’s always room for another good one,” he said. “You never forget the cost of a bad dinner, but you never remember the price of a good one.”[[In-content Ad]]