Staying Hungry presents “Keep It Secret, Keep It Saucy” (Ep. 119) - an inside look at how one Long Island chef built a hidden pizza empire from the ground up.

This week, hosts Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with Mike Vittorio - the creative force behind Mike’s Underground Pizza and Vittorio’s Italian Steakhouse. Together, they peel back the layers of what it really takes to turn passion into a brand people line up for.

Vittorio shares how clean, unbromated flour and a 450-pound backyard tomato harvest shaped his signature sauce, why owning your building might be the smartest move in hospitality, and how staying small helped him grow big. The trio dives into dry-aged ribeyes, staffing and work ethic, social-media hype, restaurant tech (POS, AI phone systems, digital payments), and the balancing act between expansion and authenticity.

For restaurant owners, chefs, and entrepreneurs - this episode is equal parts masterclass and motivation, served with plenty of sauce.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 – Welcome to Staying Hungry & intro to Mike “Mikey Underground” Esposito

2:18 – Growing up in the business: from fisherman’s son to pizzeria lifer

6:45 – Why Victoria’s Italian Steakhouse was born from “doing everything possible with a piece of dough”

11:02 – Clean flour, bromate, and why most bread doesn’t taste like bread anymore

16:30 – 450 lbs of tomatoes, backyard farming & the best sauce he’s ever made

21:40 – Garden-to-table: pairing fresh veg with steak, fish, and Italian classics

25:55 – Family, kids in the restaurant, and teaching independence through hospitality

31:20 – Real estate, buying the building, and protecting razor-thin restaurant margins

36:48 – Community, Pizza Strong, and why giving back always comes back

42:05 – Vito’s as a “hidden gem” & menu philosophy: big, flexible, and guest-focused

47:10 – Dry-aged steak 101: aging in-house, flavor, shrinkage & pricing

52:32 – Clean kitchens, inspectors, horror stories & why bathrooms really matter

57:00 – Staffing, work ethic, and why some young workers tap out on the grind

1:02:15 – Tech & restaurants: POS pain, fees, AI phone answering & digital currency worries

1:08:40 – Social media, Mike’s Underground mystique & turning demand into brand

1:14:05 – Franchising offers, expansion plans & keeping quality from getting watered down

1:18:30 – Legacy, Johnny’s Farm & what it means to nourish a community

Staying Hungry dives deep into what it really takes to grow a hospitality brand without losing your soul.

In this episode, “Scaling Without Selling Out,” hosts Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with James Bonanno, co-founder and CEO of Upstream Hospitality Group - the team behind Tap Room, Bango Bowls, Salt Shack, and more Long Island favorites.

From two broke bartenders to a multi-concept operation, James breaks down how Upstream scaled smart - building systems, culture, and tech that keep guests happy and teams proud. This one’s all about the mindset shift from running restaurants to running a company.

If you’re a restaurant owner, operator, or anyone in hospitality trying to grow without compromising quality or authenticity - this conversation will hit home.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome

01:41 Jamie’s Early Career in Hospitality

03:34 The Birth of Taproom

10:11 Scaling the Business

13:42 Challenges and Successes

16:06 Franchising and Expansion

20:44 Technology and Data in Restaurants

24:59 Partnerships and Future Plans

31:15 Working with Tritech: Initial Hesitations and Success

32:17 The Impact of Location and Development on Business

35:34 Expanding with New Concepts and Franchises

38:36 Building a Strong Leadership Team

43:21 Networking and Community Building

45:50 Balancing Work and Personal Life

49:52 Future Plans and Mentorship

58:50 Final Thoughts and Reflections

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From dishwasher to nightlife king - Scottie Campbell has spent 33 years turning Long Island waterfronts into cultural landmarks. In this episode of Staying Hungry, hosts Michael D’Onofrio and Vinny Pappalardo sit down with the man behind Dublin Deck, Harbor Crab, Salt Shack, and The Boatyard at Tobay Beach to unpack how a kid from Patchogue built a multi-concept hospitality empire.

Scottie shares what he wishes he’d told his 20-year-old self - from scaling seasonal monsters to keeping teams loyal, reading cultural shifts before they happen, and why the real win in nightlife is often found in the daylight: real estate, relationships, and reinvestment. You’ll hear how Patchogue’s “Alive After Five” blueprint became the model for reviving entire downtowns, how speakeasies are redefining post-dinner traffic, and why food is now the headliner in the age of bottle service.

For operators, restaurateurs, and anyone chasing the next evolution in hospitality, Scottie breaks down how to balance nightlife energy with long-term business discipline, why owning your dirt (or your longevity) changes every deal, how to price, staff, and program high-volume waterfront venues, how to turn POS data into both a theft deterrent and forecast engine, and how to create midweek cash flow through music, memberships, and moments.

Timestamps

00:00 Cold open: “I’m smashed”—the hat story

01:09 Welcome + guest intro (Scottie’s 33 years, first buy-in at 21)

04:10 The Dublin era (Down, Up, Over) and 90s club economics

09:35 Why food wins now: regulations, guest expectations, and margin mix

12:22 Dublin Deck & Harbor Crab: seasonal scale, marina math, and a $2M reinvest

16:58 Patchogue’s playbook: Alive After Five, chambers, and housing as demand engine

22:40 Tap Room origin & letting partners run—owner bandwidth vs. brand growth

27:05 New builds: Amsterdam (revamped Meatball), Millie Smashburger, Aces & Eights speakeasy + membership model

33:11 Programming that sells: Sessions house-music nights, ticketing, and bottle strategy

38:44 Drinks are changing: RTDs, seltzers, and the cannabis coexistence question

44:30 Tech stack: Toast, cashless shift, cameras, and promo via lists + IG collabs

49:18 Hiring, culture, and boomerang staff—how to get them back each summer

53:02 Giveback ops: Kris Kringle fund & Home for the Holidays service day

58:41 Owner hindsight: save earlier, drink less, choose partners wisely

1:02:10 Lightning round & where to find Scottie’s concepts