'You can't give up': Sydney restaurant owner's inspiring comeback after forced closure
South Sydney restauranteur Rocky Pitarelli has shown an incredible display of resilience after being forced to close his Italian restaurant earlier this year.
Amidst the cost-of-living crisis and after 17 years in business, Pitarelli was forced to close Caruso's Italian Restaurant in Gymea as electricity bills and costs became too much for the store to handle.
Now, the store owner has found a new business venture to keep his passion for food alive.
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While speaking with Mark Levy on 2GB's Ben Fordham Live! this morning, Pitarelli opened up about the first opening weekend of his new Italian café, Mama's Cuccina.
"It was fantastic," he said. "Was good to see everybody again, talk to the locals and welcome back our community."
After Levy spoke to the incredible standard of food provided by Pitarelli's last store, the chef and restaurant owner emphasised his passion to keep the standard high.
"We put a lot on our plates and it's good value for money," the small business owner said.
"We felt lost when we had to leave our [old] restaurant, being passionate about what we do, small business isn't only about money, we actually enjoy doing what we do," he added.
"There's a lot of people out there that put their heart and soul into their businesses."
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Rocky Pitarelli felt lost when he was forced to close his Italian restaurant but he wasn't ready to give up. Supplied/2GB
The closure of his old restaurant initially came about after a five-year struggle to make ends meet. Despite feeling despair at the time, Pitarelli was determined to work his way back into the restaurant space.
"You can't give up, people have to have passion and push, there's only one person in life that's going to make it and that's you," Pitarelli encouraged listeners.
"You have your resources, you have what you've learned in life, your own life journey , you have to write your own script in life, I could've sat at home and been miserable but that wasn't me.
"You've gotta keep yourself motivated and tackled the issues and problems as they come along."
Mama's Cuccina opens daily from 5.30am to 2pm, and Pitarelli is more than excited to meet with hungry customers.
