EP #3: The Heart of Antonio's: Family Traditions and Culinary Success with Stephen Suriani

Can family traditions and community spirit fuel a thriving business for decades? Join me, Lee Aloni, as I sit down with Stephen Suriani, the heart and soul behind Antonio's Pizza, to uncover the journey of this beloved family-owned restaurant that has become a culinary gem in Hollywood and Dania, Florida. Stephen shares the heartfelt history of how his parents started Antonio's in 1978, nurturing it from a small pizzeria into a multiple-location success story. We reflect on the deep family connections that have sustained Antonio's, celebrate South Florida's rich cultural scene, and even reminisce about our own family histories.

From the secret behind Antonio's mouth-watering dishes to their innovative holiday specials, Stephen reveals the importance of high-quality ingredients and culinary creativity. We discuss the impact of pizza aficionado David Portnoy from Barstool Sports and dive into the fascinating overlap of Italian and Jewish cultural traditions in Southern Italy. Stephen also gives us a glimpse of what’s on the horizon for Antonio's, sharing exciting expansion plans and potential new ventures. This episode is a tribute to the values of family, community, and the joy of good food, all wrapped up with some delightful anecdotes and a touch of humor. Don’t miss out on this flavorful conversation!

For more information visit https://leealoni.com/ or give me a call (754) 244-3352.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:05

welcome to real life with lee. Powered by leolone south florida real estate at g and e realty group. The show where lee and her guests talk about everything south florida 24 7 365, and why you should make it your home, sweet home. Lee is a realtor, a South Florida resident since the age of five, devoted wife and mom and a dedicated community volunteer. Now, without further ado, here's your host, lee Ohlone.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Good morning or good evening or whatever time you're watching this wonderful podcast. We are here. Hi everyone, I'm Lea Loney, south Florida Real Estate at our family-owned G&E Realty Group, and today you're joining me on my podcast called Real Life with Lea in South Florida, 24-7, 365. Called Real Life with Leigh in South Florida, 24-7, 365. So before I introduce our guest today, I'll just give you a few little tidbits about the word real.

Speaker 2: 1:11

So, of course, I'm a realtor. Yes, I am. I love doing South Florida real estate, selling, helping my clients, what have you? But aside from real estate, real has a real meaning, and the real meaning of real. For me it's an acronym. R stands for relatable. I'm relatable, I love to relate to you. I love sharing information about wonderful South Florida with my clients, my family, my friends, my guests. E is for energy. Yes, I have lots of energy and it's only one cup of coffee so far today. It's all about positive energy, if you haven't guessed it yet, and A ask Asking questions. It's so important. That's how we learn, we learn from each other and L live, love, laugh and make sure you do it locally in South Florida. So, without further ado, I'm going to introduce you to my guest today, stephen Suriano Suriani oh, my Lord, family names.

Speaker 3: 2:17

Too much coffee already only one cup?

Speaker 2: 2:18

No, it's only one cup. I swear, I swear.

Speaker 3: 2:21

Listen, I only had one too.

Speaker 2: 2:23

Okay, steven Suriani, owner manager of Antonio's Pizza in Hollywood, florida and Dania, florida. Hello Steven.

Speaker 3: 2:35

Hello, good morning.

Speaker 2: 2:36

Good morning.

Speaker 3: 2:37

I feel the energy, I feel the excitement already.

Speaker 2: 2:40

Okay good, I'm so happy that you joined me here today. We have been trying to get together to do this podcast for a couple of months now and between our schedules it finally worked out. It's all for shared. That's right, it's meant to be, that's right. So, stephen, why don't you go ahead and tell us a little bit about you?

Speaker 3: 3:02

Okay, well, of course, as you know, I was born and raised here in the South Florida area and I love South Florida. I think it's such a phenomenal place. You know great food, good people and it's such a mixture, I think, of a lot of people, which I think is beautiful. It's a nice, I would say, like a melting pot of variety. So, born and raised here in Florida, I have most of my family here. My family and I own Antonio's Restaurant.

Speaker 3: 3:28

As Lee said, my parents started it in 1978, started in Dania Beach, the great city of Dania, and we've done thus, expanded since then the last five years to Griffin Road, which is also Dania, fort Lauderdale, hollywood, now the last couple of years, and we're actually expanding a little bit more down the road. We have a couple more places coming up actually close to where we started, thank God. And so, and my family and I, my brother and I, were partners together, also my brother Daniel, he's a big part of my life in the restaurant and, of course, my mom and dad are very much still involved and always keeping them busy, keeping my dad doing what he does best with people, and my mom also. She just has a huge heart, sweet, hard worker, dedicated, and so I'm just, I'm really blessed just for family number one, of course, god and just having integrity as we do, with just a good, honest business, good food, good staff and great customers. I mean love. All of our customers are fantastic.

Speaker 2: 4:33

Yeah, definitely Okay. So I'm going to bring it back a little bit to the beginning there. You had said that Antonio's had started in 1978 in Dania Beach.

Speaker 3: 4:41

I remember.

Speaker 2: 4:42

Okay, I'm going to go back a little further. We have a connection, stephen and I, we are family. This is my little cousin, stephen. He's my second cousin. He's the same age as our older son, our oldest son, roz. He's 30. And so I remember the gosh, my parents and your grandparents. You know, it's my mother's brother. Yeah, and yeah, yeah, so anyway. So they started the restaurant in 1978. But there was a location your parents met at a restaurant on 441 in Hollywood.

Speaker 3: 5:24

That's right, dino's Pizza.

Speaker 2: 5:27

Dino's Pizza. That's where it started, that's how I remember everything. And then, in 1978, they moved to the location where, in Dania, Federal. Highway, federal Highway, and then that was, and then after that they moved to.

Speaker 3: 5:41

Dania Beach Boulevard.

Speaker 2: 5:42

Dania Beach Boulevard.

Speaker 3: 5:43

Yep. And then and then Hollywood Boulevard and Griffin Road. Now, yes, simultaneous, and it's going to come back near home soon, again where we started.

Speaker 2: 5:52

That's right, that's right. So do you have that menu? Do you have?

Speaker 3: 5:58

a menu.

Speaker 2: 6:00

We've got to show it because I family. I don't know if you can see this picture. There's a picture in the middle.

Speaker 3: 6:06

Right there. See the black and white one with the three couples yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's your mom and dad right here.

Speaker 2: 6:15

Uh-huh in the middle.

Speaker 3: 6:16

That's my grandpa's sister and her husband, and this is my grandpa and grandma right here.

Speaker 2: 6:21

That's right, Dorothy and Vince and Ida and.

Speaker 3: 6:23

Jim.

Speaker 2: 6:23

I don't remember your other family members' names, but yeah, it made me so happy when you created that menu a couple of years ago. Wow, it made my heart so happy and my mom too my 91 year old mother very happy that's.

Speaker 3: 6:38

You know what that's exactly. Like I said, what it's about. It's really about family and, uh, that really does take a family, it takes a team to make something happen, and that's why, without any of these amazing people on here, we couldn't't make this happen, what we have today.

Speaker 2: 6:52

So that's the family. That's absolutely right. So why don't you tell me a little bit about your favorite Italian food? What's your favorite Italian dish at Antonio's?

Speaker 3: 7:03

Well, that's tough, because I like a lot of things.

Speaker 2: 7:05

I knew you were going to say that.

Speaker 3: 7:12

Actually one of my favorites, I think, on our menu. I love our eggplant parmesan and you can have it a couple different ways either eggplant rollatini, which is the same style eggplant we roll it with ricotta cheese and spinach, bake it in the oven with that nice fresh red tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella cheese and it gets nice and crispy on top and you get a nice side of pasta. Or maybe a nice vegetable with garlic a lot of garlic on my broccoli, I'm hungry I like pizza.

Speaker 3: 7:37

I'm like I like more. I'm a classic cheese kind of guy. I like classic cheese pizza, well done, new york style. And I also like mushroom on my pizza too, as as a topping. So that's kind of my favorite, I would say. My favorite items is the eggplant, parm, the pizza and, uh, I would say probably chicken. Marsala too is delicious with a nice marsala wine yeah, my husband loves that.

Speaker 2: 7:59

Oh, my gosh favorites there and we love the fish it's not just pasta. The fish is the best, that's right fresh caught snapper.

Speaker 3: 8:05

I mean, it's uh, it comes in fresh every day. Actually, it comes in fresh. We get about probably three to four pounds a day gets delivered fresh from a company nearby and uh, you go through that on one day for lunch, for dinner, and then we have another fresh batch coming in the next day.

Speaker 2: 8:20

So it's uh, it's really fresh and that's kind of love and I love the mushroom pizza for the record that's my favorite and of course the garlic rolls. But you know, the desserts, the desserts.

Speaker 3: 8:31

That's bad trouble.

Speaker 2: 8:33

Oh, my goodness you. You gave me some kind of bread pudding or something.

Speaker 3: 8:38

Oh yeah, that stuff is trouble.

Speaker 2: 8:42

Oh, my scale did not like you that week. Man, I could I you're like share it with?

Speaker 3: 8:47

your mother. My scale goes like this all the time Okay, yeah, week, and I could, I you're like share it with you. My, my smell going like goes like this all the time okay yeah, comes with the territory.

Speaker 2: 8:54

You can't see but Italian thighs, you know.

Speaker 3: 8:56

Yeah, I try has our heads here yes, my health coach.

Speaker 2: 9:02

She needs to.

Speaker 3: 9:03

You know, cover your ears yeah, right, and actually we have great. The cauliflower crust is good too, for if people are doing keto or maybe they're gluten intolerant, we have the cauliflower crust. Like myself, I don't really have gluten issues, but I was trying to watch the carbs when I can, as much as I can, and the cauliflower crust is just. It's phenomenal, whether it's a white pizza with cheese and any toppings on it it's great, really good yes, definitely so.

Speaker 2: 9:30

Um, speaking about foods, let's see, I have a little few questions here for you. Um, is there a special kind of food that you make for holidays?

Speaker 3: 9:44

actually, yes, uh, we do, um, something, uh that we do. Of course, especially if it's during the holiday season, like in the wintertime, we'll do more items with seafood, more because it seems to be more of a northern thing, italian thing, that a lot of Italians do. That also like Mediterranean cooking with a lot of different fishes Mediterranean, yeah, with a lot of different fishes. There's a traditional Italian fish called bacala, which is similar to like, uh, in the flounder family, it's like a white flaky fish and that's popular. Usually it's like floured breaded, it's fried. That's a pretty popular dish and also something that we've done.

Speaker 3: 10:22

Talking about holidays, uh, this past year for Passover, uh, we actually did a Passover pizza which I did a little variety. We had matzah pizza which, of course, with regular matzah, and I also did made a special batch of dough that had, you know, special flour. It had no, no rising agent, no yeast at all, for for the holiday of Passover, and that was actually our first time doing it and I didn't really publicize it and we actually sold out the whole week. And I made matzo lasagna, which sold out as well. And next year I'm going to do more of a planned menu and have meatballs made with matzo meal. And of course, there we always make our meatballs only beef, we don't mix anything else. So matzo meal. I'm going to make matzo tiramisu. Next year, instead of the ladyfingers I'm going to use matzo, that's a magical word.

Speaker 3: 11:14

Maybe do a cheesecake, do some kind of a cheesecake and use matzo for a crust. That's going to be something my brother's going to work on, because he's the chef. He knows how to make that stuff happen. So that's just a little bit, you know, of course. Then you have easter and there's, uh, we do a lot of lamb, and even actually during passover, since they're close, uh, we do a lot of lamb during that time too and uh, like land chop specials and it's actually stayed on the menu on our special menu lamb chops and it's uh, it's pretty, pretty hot seller, especially at our hollywood store.

Speaker 2: 11:43

It's been really good yeah, I haven't tried that, yeah my roasted potatoes and nice broccoli with extra garlic.

Speaker 3: 11:51

It's a lot. I have to wait my salivation hold on so all right.

Speaker 2: 12:01

So I have a question also and a random question.

Speaker 3: 12:03

Another random question um David Portnoy have you heard of the man, the pizza man oh, you do know about him, he's very uh. He's very high esteemed in our pizza world is he, do tell he's very interesting.

Speaker 3: 12:18

He uh actually started off which he still does with sports. I know he has a company, uh uh, barstool Sports, I believe, which is known all over the internet and, um, it's a pretty, it's a large corporation, uh, but somehow he got started with he likes pizza and he just started going around. I think he started in his hometown I forgot exactly where he's from. Yeah, maybe connecticut, I think, boston, or boston yeah, I think boston, and he started just trying pizza because of his following people. Just you know, they would log on and watch him and it caught on and now they call him like El Presidente, I think, on Facebook.

Speaker 2: 12:55

Yeah.

Speaker 3: 12:55

And he really has a good record and actually he likes, has, he calls it a good undercarriage and he doesn't like a flop. It's got. The crust has to stand like this you have, yeah, ok, and so he actually he's come very close to our stores in Florida. I think he moved down here somewhere, I don't want to say where, but I think he moved somewhere near South Florida also. So hopefully one day he comes by and tries our pizza.

Speaker 2: 13:23

Yeah, what do you think he'd give you, what kind of rating from one to 10? What are you thinking which? What do you think he'd give you what kind of rating from?

Speaker 3: 13:30

1 to 10? What are you thinking? Which pizza would you present? Well, I think he likes a classic cheese. That's what he likes. He always has a classic cheese pizza. He likes light on the cheese, light on the sauce, likes a crust. I would say, based on our pizza style, I would hope he would give at least maybe a 7.5 or between a 7 and an 8. If we get at least maybe a 7.5 or 8 between a 7 and 8.

Speaker 2: 13:52

If we get at least that, we'll be very happy.

Speaker 3: 13:53

Yeah, oh, that's big on his scale, because he's only given, you know, maybe a dozen or so places, like a nine out of all the states you know. So he's really particular, but he knows pizza, he knows good pizza.

Speaker 2: 14:02

So David Portnoy, you're listening, that's right.

Speaker 3: 14:06

David, come on, get out there, come down here for us. I got a meatball for him and cheesecake too.

Speaker 2: 14:11

Yeah, I'll get him on this podcast too, there you go, exactly there you go. Okay, so, having talked about ratings of 1 to 10 for pizzas, there is a contest going on locally.

Speaker 3: 14:23

That's right.

Speaker 2: 14:23

You want to talk about that?

Speaker 3: 14:25

Absolutely, talk about that, absolutely. So the Sun Sentinel had a post go out the last couple weeks about rating the best pizza in South Florida. So thankfully thankfully to our amazing customers and our family that we were actually nominated as one of five in South Florida. And it's actually happening now until midnight Sunday, this Sunday the 23rd and so people got to get out there and vote for Antonio's Pizza and that's great. And of course, there's a lot of great places out there. There's a lot of good restaurants, you know. But we just we're so thankful that our people, especially in Florida and even probably up north too, they get the paper, they see it online that are snowbirds and they vote for us too because they really appreciate us and love our food. You know, you can't go wrong when it's fresh food, good people, good atmosphere. What else can you ask for? You know?

Speaker 2: 15:22

That's right, that's right.

Speaker 3: 15:23

Vote for Antonio's.

Speaker 2: 15:24

Vote for Antonio's number one. I voted already. How many times can you vote? Do you know?

Speaker 3: 15:32

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 15:33

That's right and they track your email.

Speaker 3: 15:36

I think they track your email and your IP address. So even if you put like I was trying to help my grandmother, she doesn't know how to really do that. So from my computer I put her email and it says only one vote allowed per user. So they must track your record. But as many people can vote, vote Antonio's Pizza and share it with your friends.

Speaker 2: 15:56

This is a good kid over there, Stephen Suriani.

Speaker 3: 16:00

Thank you, my second cousin. This is an amazing wait this way. This is an amazing woman over here, Lee, Amazing wife, mom, real estate agent, everything. She's a fantastic person. She really is. She's real, like she says.

Speaker 2: 16:13

Real, I am real.

Speaker 3: 16:15

Yeah 100%.

Speaker 2: 16:18

Oh, famiglia. Hey, we have a friend here, so I have a friend, wait Famiglia and Mishpocha, it's both. Mishpocha yeah.

Speaker 3: 16:26

Mishpocha, there you go.

Speaker 2: 16:28

We also have a kind of a thing, an interesting connection here. Recently, stephen learned that he has Jewish heritage in his background, which is quite amazing. Something like 54 percent Jewish on your grandma's side, something like that.

Speaker 3: 16:43

Yeah, it's very, very interesting because, of course, growing up, you know, I always know my grandma was Lithuanian, which is in Europe, and of course my grandfather, my dad's side, being Italian, and so it was very interesting that you know some of the foods that she would make, of course, is very Eastern European some items. But I asked her one day I was like, oh, it's interesting, like you're making potato latkes and she'll make different styles of potato kugel, you know, like borscht soup and all these different items. So it kind of was relating a little bit. So I asked her some questions and she goes like borscht soup and all these different items. So it kind of was relating a little bit. So I asked her some questions and, uh, she goes.

Speaker 3: 17:21

Well, I don't really remember a hundred percent, but I know that when, uh, we my mom was in lithuania, her mother, uh, that they had to leave because it was, uh, it was really bad times, there was something happening and they had to leave and then came to chicago and uh, but she doesn't really remember much, you know, before that and I know she has one sister left, uh, but uh, so I want to try to contact her one day and see if she knows any stories or if anything sounds familiar Um and I actually had a teacher when I was in high school, uh, at a local school here in Hollywood, uh, who was, uh, he was Jewish Orthodox, and so I was talking to him one day and, uh, he actually encouraged me.

Speaker 3: 18:01

Also. He goes oh, that's great, you know, he says especially, uh, italians and jewish families are so similar and actually even in italy and southern italy, like rome and certain parts of southern italy, had a huge portion of jewish culture years ago, you know, back when the different empires came through and when the Jews were moving around. So it was very interesting that I found that out and I always felt, you know, I feel no different. I feel like I'm a matzah meatball, you know.

Speaker 2: 18:32

That's right, me too, so my story is a little bit different. You know I won't go into it too long, but my maiden name is Idstein and that's german, but growing up everyone thought it's dean. They thought I was jewish. So I went to germany when I was a travel agent. That's why I'm I love doing this, talking about south florida, um and my maiden name. There's a little town north of frankfurt and oh, wow called idstein itchstein.

Speaker 2: 18:54

My maiden and I went into the little city hall and it looks like Hansel and Gretel. You want to take a shudder and just eat it? You know, I don't know. Anyway, I walked in and the first thing I saw was Itstein Catholic on the wall on one side and Itstein Jewish on the other.

Speaker 3: 19:08

Wow.

Speaker 2: 19:09

Blew my mind, and then I had just met my future husband from Israel, gal he was an amazing man. Yeah, so my journey has been really enchanting, adventurous for years and, wow, it has enriched my life so much. And that's another. You know what?

Speaker 3: 19:26

There's something there on, I think, on your mom's side, of something's got to be there, because I know you're Ida.

Speaker 2: 19:33

My mother's, ida. I think it's amazing. I don't understand it. There's something there. I know it's Italian, jewish, that's it. We're just all.

Speaker 3: 19:44

That's what we are Absolutely yeah and I love it. I wouldn't change anything for a minute, for anything.

Speaker 2: 19:50

Me neither. Definitely we love our community here. So I'm going to kind of wrap it up here, but I want you to tell me again about the expansion of the business and any other type of information you want to share.

Speaker 3: 20:05

So, as of now, like I said, we have an active location on Griffin Road, which is Dania, fort Lauderdale, an active location on Hollywood Boulevard and 46 in Hollywood, and we're in the process now of opening two more locations in the South Florida area. And so it's it's there's definitely a lot of expansion happening. It's exciting, you know, it's a healthy, a healthy fear of making sure things go the right way and, thank God, we have good people by our side. I mean we have, uh, like I said, I'm I'm very grateful, as I was raised, really just about the people around you that surround you. Yeah, like with the great cpa, fantastic, uh, different attorneys with with whether it's with with lease attorneys and, uh, general law, you know, and great friends that really surround you and give you really good counsel on certain things and you meet just fantastic people along the way. And the expansion, you know, down the road, you never know, be open, maybe if somebody wants to do a partnership or maybe a managing partner or maybe investors, that's something that could happen down the road. Yeah, you know we've never done that before, but it's something that obviously could happen down the road. Yeah, you know we've never done that before, but it's something that obviously could happen.

Speaker 3: 21:17

Yeah, um and uh. Franchise and uh. A franchise not like most people would think, where it's fast food, it's frozen cuz. Franchise just means you're you're keeping that same style, the same name, same brand, same food, same concept and making it, keeping it fresh, you know. So there's so much on the horizon that, so many possibilities that we have, and we're just really beyond blessed and thankful to God number one for allowing this lot in our life to happen and for fantastic people that are right next to us. So we're really grateful.

Speaker 2: 21:52

Yeah, we have a wonderful community you have. We have a beautiful family together. I'm so glad you joined me. I've said that.

Speaker 3: 21:59

Thank you, I appreciate it. I love that.

Speaker 2: 22:01

Yeah, I have one of those.

Speaker 3: 22:03

I have one of those out front. I should have brought it back here.

Speaker 2: 22:06

Do you know what it says? Do you see what it says?

Speaker 3: 22:07

It says no, this kitchen will be closed today because of illness. I'm sick of cooking.

Speaker 2: 22:12

Yeah, you know where I'm going, right For dinner.

Speaker 3: 22:15

I yeah, so you know where I'm going, right for dinner, I do.

Speaker 2: 22:16

I think I do yeah. I'll see you soon.

Speaker 3: 22:19

There you go, I'll be waiting for you. I like that, my uncle God.

Speaker 2: 22:23

Rest his soul. He reminds me of Uncle Joe.

Speaker 3: 22:26

He was a great cook, I know. I heard stories about him.

Speaker 2: 22:29

Okay, we got to wrap this up.

Speaker 3: 22:30

I don't want to get any exciting here. We should have a part two.

Speaker 2: 22:33

Huh.

Speaker 3: 22:34

We should have a part two.

Speaker 2: 22:35

We will, we definitely will I like it. Yes, encore. So Antonio's Pizza Hollywood, dania Beach, long-time business, local business, south Florida business expanding. Great vision, great family, great food, great everything.

Speaker 1: 22:53

Thank you.

Speaker 2: 22:53

So happy, you joined me Thank you very much. Watch for this podcast again. I'm. I hopefully won't be as twisted and tongue twisted, but you know I'm kidding, I'm real, I'm real.

Speaker 3: 23:06

Exactly. You know what I think that's important. Like you said, relatable, good energy, attitude, ask questions and live, love and laugh. I think all that sums everything up. I think it's beautiful Amen, amen.

Speaker 2: 23:19

All right, my dear cousin Antonio Pizza. Extraordinaire real estate Lee Ohlone.

Speaker 3: 23:27

South Florida real estate we're out of here.

Speaker 2: 23:29

Have a blessed day, everyone. All right, see you later. Love you, thank you, love you too.

Speaker 1: 23:33

Bye. Thanks for joining us on Real Life with Leigh. If you love the show and it's helped you in any way, please subscribe and leave us your comments. We're all about helping each other in the community and we're so appreciative of you. You're invited to share this episode on social media and with someone you know. Tune in next time to learn more about life in South Florida and real life with Lee.