Soon To Be Twice As Good
While many restaurants shuttered during the past year, restaurateur Edward Pozzuoli has found the secret sauce needed to, not only keep open his Prezzo Italian restaurant in Boca Raton, but also expand into Palm Beach Gardens.
At the start of 2020, Pozzuoli joined forces with Burt Rapoport of Rapoport’s Restaurant Group, by purchasing 50% of Prezzo, which Rapoport reopened in 2018. Pozzuoli felt it was a great opportunity to learn and grow with one of the best restaurateurs South Florida has ever had.
Then COVID-19 hit and Pozzuoli and Rapoport pivoted. They launched a grassroots campaign to serve family-style dinners and takeout for seven weeks.
“It was just a matter of ‘let’s keep people fed and keep the lights on’ and keep whoever we could employed,” he says.
Upon reopening for dine-in, Pozzuoli relaunched the brand and started changing up the vibe of the Boca Raton restaurant with renovations and improvements to the food and beverage program. When season hit, it was non-stop from December to June.
“It was extremely busy and I was working seven days a week, but it was important to spend a lot of time on the floor getting to know the locals and become a part of the community,” he says.
After a great season, the partners began to think about what’s next for Prezzo. In mid-August, Rapoport was tipped off that the space in Palm Beach Gardens that once housed Vic & Angelo’s and later Scusi was available. They jumped at the opportunity.
The new restaurant is expected to open mid-November and feature traditional Italian fare, with a modern twist. Diners won’t find red checkered tablecloths and straw wrapped wine bottles. Instead, they’ll be served mouth-watering weekly specials along with Prezzo’s best-selling garlic herb-crusted lamb chops, snapper oreganata and, of course, pizza to die for.
“We are excited to bring the brand to North Palm Beach County and become a part of their growing community,” says Pozzuoli.
Prezzo is located at 5560 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton and 4520 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens. For more information, call 561-314-6840 in Boca Raton or 561-429-6938 in Palm Beach Gardens or visit eatprezzo.com.
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