Without any formal menu, only a daily special chalkboard of Italian classics, and no real game plan but pay the bills, Café Martorano opened, with a strong Philadelphia feel and in-house soundtrack. Lauderdale, Florida, Steve spotted a five-table café space for lease, and on a hunch, signed a lease and moved to Florida to enter the restaurant business. On a subsequent trip to visit close friend, New York Jet and South Philly native Ray Abruzzese in Ft. Soon, Steve's Italian Kitchen took off, operating out of the basement of his mother's home. With no advertising but fliers left in mailboxes and posted on telephone poles, business began slowly, though after days of silence, a woman called and ordered a sandwich and a hoagie.
Steve entered the food industry at age 26 as a one-man fresh sandwich delivery service featuring breads from Philadelphia's famous Sarcone's bakery. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - After more than 30 years spent spreading his pioneering brand of Italian-American cuisine served in a trademark, high-energy atmosphere, world-class restaurateur and 'Godfather of Italian-American Cooking' Steve Martorano and his wife and business partner Marsha are returning to where it all started, together opening a Martorano's Prime in Philadelphia's Rivers Casino, a counterpart to their existing Pittsburgh Rivers Casino location.
