By Sarah Kellner
Walking into Trattoria Rustica on Bull Street felt as comfortable as walking into my grandmother’s kitchen. The smell of fresh baked pizza dough and homemade tomato sauce wafted through the room. That’s exactly how the owner, Dan Marino, wants it to feel. He sat at a table near the fireplace and his jolly expression instantly put me at ease.
“It was always a fantasy of mine and my best friend’s to own a restaurant,” Marino began. “But we both ended up in totally different fields. When I came down to Savannah, the pizza was horrible, the Italian food was horrible, so I knew I needed to change that.”
Marino grew up in Long Island and went to Nassau Community College.
“After 9/11, I didn’t want to be in the city any more. I worked in Manhattan doing corporate sales for Singapore Alliance, and my commute was an hour and a half each way,” he said.
“The winters were just so cold and snowy. When my wife asked me if I wanted to move to Savannah, I said, ‘Sure.’”
Pizza Rustica opened on March 1, 2007. Now that they’ve expanded their menu to more than just pizza, they’ve changed the name to Trattoria Rustica.
“Trattoria” is the term for an Italian-style eating establishment that focuses on casual dining and low prices, which fits the restaurant perfectly. Marino also plans to open a beer and wine bar above the restaurant that would carry brews on tap like Fat Tire and Magic Hat.
“When we first started we were basically pizza and a few basic baked pastas,” Marino explained. “We’ve kind of branched out a bit more.”
The restaurant also caters to special dietary needs with items like gluten-free and vegan pizza. “I try to have something for everybody,” Marino said as he smiled and gestured toward the door.
Marino develops the recipes for Trattoria Rustica himself. He explained that it took him 12 tries to get the pizza dough where he wanted it. “
It was a tough thing to do because each batch I made weighed 25 pounds, and when I didn’t like it, I had to throw it out,” he said, shaking his head. However, you can tell that he’s always enjoyed what he does.
“When it comes to cooking, my mom and my grandmother have definitely influenced me,” explained Marino. “I learned a lot from them. I was always helping in the kitchen, and always loved cooking.”
Marino has encountered a few obstacles in owning his business. He related them to the show “Opening Soon” on the Fine Living channel, which documents the timeline of a restaurant from beginning concept to opening day.
“I used watch the show and say, ‘Oh that’s not going to happen to me, I am smarter than that,’” he laughed. “But that and much more happened to me.” He cited the City of Savannah officials as being hard to work with when it comes to permits.
“Because a lot of stuff is on a whim with the city,” he explained, “it depends who you talk to, you’ll always get a different answer.”
Marino started up with very little capital, which was another obstacle.
“That was a big, big mistake,” he said. Marino explained that being well financed is one of the keys to owning a successful business.
“You’re going to need a piece of equipment fixed, or you’ll need to advertise because the economy is always changing. You just don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said.
Marino shifted to get comfortable in his chair and smoothed out the tablecloth. I could tell that he cares about this restaurant as if it were his home.
“You have to love what you do,” said Marino. “I made a lot of money doing corporate sales for Singapore Alliance, and after 15 years, I just dreaded what I did. I make no money now, and I love it. It makes a big difference.”
He asserted that you have to have passion for what you do and if you don’t, it’s not worth doing.
“I mean, when I cook, I actually have fun. When people rave about the pizza or the pasta or something like that, it makes me really happy. It’s like ‘Wow, someone enjoyed something that I made,’” Marino said.
