“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 23rd in an ongoing series.
Company Name: Mona Lisa Italian Foods (2061 India Street)
What happens here: We’re an Italian restaurant and delicatessen.
Specialty: Our lasagna is layered noodles with meat sauce, fresh ricotta, mozzarella and pecorino cheese. We also have vegetarian-style layered noodles with marinara sauce, mozzarella, ricotta and Romano cheeses and fresh spinach.
Owner/Manager: Domenic Brunetto. San Diego born and raised (70 years). Currently live in South Mission Hills. It’s a three-minute drive to work (I feel guilty saying that).
Employees: 49. We’ve had great longtime employees. I’m really proud of the staff we have today.
Family business: We’ve been on India Street for 51 years, since June 1973 – my two brothers and two sisters, cousins and many other Italian American friends of ours. We’re in our third generation now.
Start-up story: Before buying our India Street location, my dad and uncle were operating three other restaurants. To buy the Little Italy spot, we pooled our money – my father Stefano; brothers John and Ben Brunetto; my uncle Gaspare Apparito; and my cousin Mike Apparito We bought the business (called Leonardo’s at the time) from the Greco family.
Some history: In 1973, we were one of only three retail Italian food businesses on India Street (Solunto baking company, and Filippis). We operated the Italian restaurant and supplied the Italian community with deli products. We had a wholesale operation, San Diego Importing Co. which supplied Italian restaurants in San Diego and Mexico with high-quality products. We also supplied our local tuna fleet with Italian food products. And cottonseed oil to Hotel Caesars (in Tijuana) for their Caesar salads!
Celebrity sightings: Many Chargers and Padres players. I’ll never forget when NBA great Wilt Chamberlain came into our deli and he had to bend down to get his head through the door!
Best aspect of working downtown: You don’t have to commute or get on a freeway. We grew up in Little Italy and the surrounding areas our whole lives and lived close enough to walk to work. We attended Washington Elementary School and Our Lady of the Rosary church. We have many great memories growing up in Little Italy. Our parents didn’t speak English. Our first language was the Sicilian dialect, which was the only language many of our customers spoke.
Regular customers: Working with the Italian customers during the 1970s and ’80s was a lot of fun, especially talking to them in Sicilian. They were tough negotiators, bartering, trying to get a better price. That’s what they did in the villages in Italy. They didn’t like to pay market price.
Company motto: Not really. My dad always wanted us to treat people with respect, like family.
Parking: Parking is always an issue in Little Italy. We’re fortunate to have free customer parking in front of our business and next door.
Most surprising part of working downtown: Seeing how Little Italy and all of downtown has grown. We used to play football and softball on Columbia Street. When the rare car came by, we just moved out of the way. That’s not gonna happen today.
Big-event bumps: We do sell a lot of sandwiches before Padres games. Conventions bring extra business for the restaurant. Concerts on the Bay also bring in big crowds.
Homelessness: It’s a big problem. It’s really disappointing that our city can’t do better.
Business friendliness of the city, on a scale of 1 (easiest) to 10 (hardest): 10. Much too long for these new businesses opening up to get through the process. It was much better when we opened. Now, for remodeling and improvements we have to make, we get a taste of how difficult it is. The city is continually making doing business in San Diego difficult. Mostly, by the reduction of parking. These days, the city is very unfriendly to the business community.
Being more business friendly: The Little Italy Association, which I’ve been a board member of, has helped to improve Little Italy tremendously. We have more control of our community and we have promoted Little Italy as a first-class destination. Our maintenance district works hard to maintain the cleanliness of the streets and sidewalks.
Best insider tip for running a downtown SD business: Be prepared for the long permitting process and have a plan with funds set aside to get you through the first year. SDSun
