Meet Domenick Montanile | Owner of Venezia’s NY Style Pizzeria

We had the good fortune of connecting with Domenick Montanile and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Domenick, other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
Very early on after I started my business I decided to set up bonus programs for my management staff. Giving them incentives on work performance was key to help grow the business and also reward the Managers who over achieved. It was also important to give them instant gratification on their bonus so that they would see the reward on their next payroll check.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Venezia’s NY Style Pizzeria has 5 locations in the Phoenix area and I am very proud to have been able to service Arizona for 22 years! It was not easy when we started in 1998 but I believe the key was being meticulous, always striving for consistency and quality and building great relationships with our partners. Our recipes were passed on for generations and my father perfected our pizza ingredients. I have never changed our core ingredients for our product due to price as it was important to keep consistency over the years. One big key that helped set us apart was building incentive programs for my Management staff so that they would be compensated for great performance. I was able to institute a bonus program that included instant gratification on their following check so they could see there positive results turn into benefits for themselves. I feel if you treat your employees fairly it will bleed through your organization and your customers will notice the difference. When I am at a store, I help out anyway I can as it is important to lead by example.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was in town, I would probably plan on taking him to some great restaurants we have in the area. We have some amazing steak houses and one of my favorites in Steak 44. Golfing would have to be on the itinerary since there is some great courses in Phoenix. For drinks, there is many cool places to go anywhere in Arcadia, Scottsdale or PV. We would probably take a trip up north to Pinetop and enjoy some cooler weather and golf at White Mountain Country Club. I believe it is one of the better courses in all of Arizona. I am not a very good golfer but plan to play more often in the future and hopefully get respectable☺.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank my parents for being amazing role models, I learned what true work ethic, hard work and dedication was at a very young age. My parents immigrated from Italy and arrived in New York when they were 18 years old. They met learning English in night school in the Bronx. Having come to America as teenagers and not understanding the language it is the american dream that they were able to start a successful business from nothing. I always say that although we have been able expand and grow Venezia’s Pizzeria to the level it is now, it is a bigger achievement of what my parents were able to accomplish.

Website: www.venezias.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veneziaspizza/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/domenick-montanile-283506104/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/veneziaspizza
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeneziasPizzeria
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/veneziaspizza