The Bavaro Family

Dan Bavaro and the Bavaro family founded Bavaro’s in March of 2009. In 2008, at the age of 30, Dan Bavaro sold his first business – a successful transportation company in New Jersey – that he founded at the age of 19. He said goodbye to this business to pursue his new dream of owning an Italian restaurant after studying the craft of Neapolitan pizza under third generation Neapolitan chefs. Along with his wife, Anna-Maria, and their five children – Antonio, Lola, Niko, Gianni, and Santino – he moved to Florida and opened their flagship restaurant on the corner of Franklin and Twiggs in Downtown Tampa. The restaurant was developed under the concept of blending the Italian authenticity of Neapolitan pizza with an upscale atmosphere in the Tampa Bay area. The quaint restaurant has 50 seats and is accented by Italian porcelain, wood floors, and bricks salvaged from a demolished 100-year-old factory in Chicago.

The Bavaro’s menu is centered around a stunning, imported wood-fired brick oven, handcrafted in a process over 30 days by a third-generation Neapolitan craftsman in Naples, Italy named Stefano Ferrara. From every table, patrons can see and hear the crackling of the logs while flames flicker with blazing heat encompassing every handcrafted pizza. Our oven maintains temperatures in excess of 900° F. From Neapolitan pizza, to homemade pastas, antipasti, and classic homemade desserts, guests will truly love the authentic culinary experience.

Local guests constantly requested Bavaro’s gourmet sauces to be bottled and sold for home use. During 2010, after a canceled catering event, the restaurant was left with 20 gallons of pasta sauce. Anna-Maria suggested the sauce be bottled. Dan conjured memories of jarring sauce in his grandmother’s kitchen, and they began to bottle their first batch. Bavaro’s line of gourmet Italian products expanded into thousands of retailers throughout the country, including Whole Foods, Fresh Market, and Costco.

Fast forward to today, Bavaro’s operates four locations which are in downtown Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Tampa International Airport. Bavaro’s gourmet sauces remain on the shelves at some of the most reputable retailers throughout the state of Florida.

In 2012, after being introduced by a mutual friend who frequented Bavaro’s, Dan Bavaro and Bob Johnston, Owner & CEO of The Melting Pot Restaurants formed a friendship and shared a vision to bring a fast-casual Italian concept to the market. It wasn’t until 2018 that the two entrepreneurs created a joint venture partnership, combining their strengths for what would become Oronzo.

Oronzo was named after Bavaro’s grandfather who migrated to the United States with his wife Angela. Bavaro was to create the vision for the brand, its DNA, and the culinary experience. Johnston was to provide a strong foundation for growth given his company’s 45-year history in franchising by streamlining Bavaro’s vision, then packaging it into an experience for guests that also allows for scalability. A piece of the puzzle was missing; therefore, Bob and Dan approached world-renowned design firm Scott Squared to join the company as co-founders to deliver their expertise in design and branding. In 2018, the joint partnership was established, and the partners searched for their first location, opening in the Spring of 2020. 

Every business starts with one location to be perfected. What we’ve created is the foundation of a successful brand that is preparing to scale. The vision, “to change the way people experience Italian food.”