Oldest story in the book: First generation Argentine-Hungarian-American opens a panini* and tapas bar in Ewing because of a dead guy on a doorstep and an overly-eager union demanding protection money or else.
If you had a nickel, right?
So yes: CrisPanino is the newest Mercer County eatery, open now for a week at 1507 Parkway Avenue and theres a reason I put an asterisk next to panini up there and
And lets just get it from owner Christian Pataki, 35, a Ewing native who has wanted to be a chef since he was 5 years old and who cut his teeth as a restaurateur in what turned out to be the mean streets of Buenos Aires.
It was around 2010, middle of the recession, I wasnt making any real progress here in America, so I told my wife we had to do something, Pataki said. So we decided to go back to Argentina.
Thats right. Back. He had first moved there when he was 18, right after he got run over by a truck on Sullivan Way, and that is not a metaphor.
I got a $45,000 settlement, he said. It seemed like all the money in the world.
So he went to Argentina, where an extended family of close to 100 people were there to welcome him. Before this decision, he had already made headway towards his chef dream. He started at McDonalds at age 14, and by 17, he was a line cook at the Sheraton Bucks County.
Once in Argentina despite not becoming an overnight chef sensation he did meet a girl. They had a few innocent nice to meet you dates, and then one night at a local club, he was introduced by this girl to another girl.
It was love at first sight, Pataki said, of the other girl. But then she walked away, through a fog machine, and I thought Id never see her again.
A few days later, at his quasi-girlfriends sisters birthday party, he ran into the mystery girl again.
One hitch: She Leonela is her name was the sister in question.
Pataki decided to pursue his love, which, predictably, was met with some resistance.
I was persistent, he said. She was reluctant. It took a lot of flowers and poetry.
And it resulted in a wonderful marriage and two children. So that worked out.
Anyway, they moved back to the United States around 2000. He was hired as the general manager of the Peacock Inn in Princeton, at age 20. He bounced around at other local restaurants, the recession hit, and they decided to move back to Argentina where he was going to open his dream restaurant.
I come from a very diverse culinary background, got a chance to try many different flavors as a kid, he said. And my favorite memory was my mom making me ham, cheese, a little mayo on an English muffin and toasting it. Eat it untoasted, its just not good. But toasted, its delicious.
So he opened CrisPanino. In Buenos Aires. It was a panino place. Not panini. Panino.
Panini is actually the plural of sandwich in Italian, and panino is the singular, Pataki said. So when you say I want a panini, youre actually saying, I want a sandwiches. I wanted it to be right.
As for the cris part? Well, really, its crisp, with the p from panino and its meant to describe the texture of the bread. Anyway
Anyway, it was a success. So much so, he opened a second CrisPanino restaurant. Things were going great.
And then someone got shot on his doorstep of his home.
I heard the shots and heard a guy moaning, so I opened my door and there he was, dying, Pataki said. And the gunshots kept coming. I called the police, they came and actually poked the guy with a stick to see if he was alive. Then they took me down to the station to sign an affidavit stating that they didnt shoot the guy.
This was, as you might imagine, troubling. The couple had one child and Leonela, an Argentine native, was pregnant with their second. Both completely freaked out, so they moved, immediately, into a high rise.
Then, the union came knocking.
They threatened to use force if I didnt pay dues, Pataki said. So I got on my motorcycle, went home, and told Leonela it was probably time to leave.
They got back to the States in 2012 and Pataki went back to work for one his past restaurant employers. But he wasnt happy. And he wasnt done with the CrisPanino concept. (Which is a tremendous concept. The menu: Filled with panini of every stripe. Plus a full tapas menu. And virtually everything is $7.99 or under. I mean, come on. Run dont walk. Thats my three-word review.)
The building is a converted dance studio. The tables and woodwork were created by his dad. His mom, who has worked in hospitality as a career, helps out. Leonela designed everything. Its laid back, just south of swanky, calm, completely unfussy. And its a concept thats truly brand-new.
When you create a business plan, one of the things youre supposed to consider is how is this unique to the industry? Pataki said. Well, I think were pretty darn unique.
Seconded.
Read Jeff Edelstein every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at jedelstein@trentonian.com, facebook.com/jeffreyedelstein and @jeffedelstein on Twitter.
Open all references in tabs: [1 - 3]