Pacific Marble and Granite, Middletown, Conn.
It’s a testament to how the Bramatos’ space needs have changed over the years that they were willing to give up their showroom and tile store to another purpose. Located about three blocks from the fabrication shop, Esca is large enough to seat 270 diners on the main floor, with a banquet and meeting room upstairs.
Also, not surprisingly, the restaurant’s reviewers have noted Esca’s use of natural stone in its décor, as well as its menu of contemporary Italian food.
Perhaps because he sees the material in a different light, Carmelo Bramato isn’t quite as effusive.
“We really don’t have a lot of stone,” he says. “Of course, all the countertops in the bar are stone, and in the bathrooms. We have one room that is all tumbled marble on the floor, and then we have a split stone fireplace. That’s pretty much it.”
Certainly, the fact that one of those reviews appeared in the New York Times didn’t hurt the fledging restaurant any. However, just as the Bramatos had good luck in launching their tile business and then the stone-fabrication shop, Carmelo Bramato says he had no doubt that Esca would be a success.
“I knew my daughter was very good at what she did,” he says. “She was managing two restaurants – she didn’t mind all the hours – and running them like they were her own. It made me feel very comfortable, so we just opened it.”
And, as with the family’s other business operations, the restaurant opened with a bang and hasn’t slowed down since its launch in June of last year.
“It’s just like when we opened the tile store; we got very busy the very first day,” he says. “When we opened the restaurant, we did a little grand opening and the place was packed; we had like 500 people there all at once. Since we opened, it’s been doing a very, very good business.”
NUMBER ONE
Possibly the best testament to the restaurant’s success if that despite delaying the purchase for at least a year, the Bramatos are back on track to buy a CNC machine for the fabrication shop.
“I’ve always wanted to get a CNC machine, but when it was between opening the restaurant or buying the machine, we decided to open the restaurant first,” Carmelo Bramato says. “But, now it’s time to get a CNC.”
He’s already begun his shopping, and expects to have one installed in the shop no later than this summer.