Mozz & Co, a new Italian grinder shop, creates excitement
- Natalie K. Pollock
- May 30
- 5 min read
By Natalie K. Pollock
Staff Writer
Joe Cusano moved to West Hartford from Southington and made a name for himself as a skilled chef in major restaurants. Now, the well-known master of the kitchen has opened his own food business, Mozz & Co, at 22 Raymond Road. Within a week of opening, he already had a regular following, with some people waiting in line before opening time to submit their orders.
Danny Alicea from the south end of Hartford went back three times in the first week. Why?
“It’s all about the quality and the price,” said Alicea.
The interior of the new Italian grinder shop has a European flair. Photo by Natalie K. Pollock
The interior of the new Italian grinder shop has a European flair. Photo by Natalie K. Pollock
Cusano always knew he wanted to be his own boss someday. That day came in early April, when he decided he had the passion and the time to devote to the hours and energy into training a staff.
“When I moved here three years ago, I could not get a good chicken cutlet. I was given frozen chicken tenders instead. I could not find a good, authentic Italian grinder shop so I decided to open one. This concept is so good, so fresh,” said Cusano.
Mozz & Co is currently open Monday through Saturday from 11am-5pm and on Sunday from 11am-3pm, but he is already looking ahead to adding hours to remain open until 6:30pm so that workers can grab a grinder for dinner on their way home.
As it is he works in his shop from 6am-12am, while his pregnant wife Alexis cares for their toddler. The restaurant business is hard work, but Cusano considers his staff part of his family and enjoys being with them, even though he may occasionally fall asleep on a banquette from exhaustion.
He met his wife at the Southington Dairy Queen where he was working, and she had stopped by from Wolcott. She had restaurant experience from her job at Buffalo Wild Wings and various local restaurants. She is now a nurse.
Cusano grew up on his parents’ farm in Southington, learning about cooking from watching his mother. His parents grew chickens, pigs and turkeys and planted several acres of vegetables and other plants.
“My mother was my first teacher. In the summer my chores were picking and canning tomatoes for sauce,” he said.
One of his favorite memories is the tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches and his mother’s chicken cutlets.
He explained that he was attracted to cooking as a career because, “I liked the adrenalin in the kitchen, and the building of family around it. We did not have a big family.”
Cusano attended Johnson & Wales University in Providence, majoring in the culinary arts, where he was awarded the Emeril Lagasse Scholarship, one of only six students to receive it that year. The award was based on originality and cooking prowess. He continued to study abroad for two months at the University of Florence, where he worked at a restaurant and learned “true Italian cooking,” he said, which he defined as “no butter, no cream, just olive oil, and all fresh and light.”
At Mozz & Co he makes his own mozzarella, using cheese curd over which he pours hot salted water and then he stretches it. The chef adds salt because he thinks most mozzarella is flavorless without it.
“I’ve been working in restaurants since I was 16 and now, I’m 32. I spent 21 years at the Max restaurants,” said Cusano.
He left Max Downtown in Hartford, where he was chef de cuisine, because he felt he had no more room for growth and he craved more. Cusano then went on to Le Mazet in West Hartford, serving as executive chef “because I wanted to learn about French cuisine. I had a small background in it. My knowledge grew there and the lifestyle there was cool–it was a family.”
After three years he left to open his own business, and he has recreated the same family feeling with his staff.
Cusano has 10 employees at Mozz & Co, and they were not easy to find. Many work only part time, but they are all “family” members at the shop.
“It was hard to find people who want to work a fulltime shift. I think people don’t want to work hard anymore,” he said.
And the restaurant business is hard work, but it’s Cusano’s passion.
Q. What is the most popular dish at your restaurant?
A. It’s the Calabrese Cotoletta, which is a chicken cutlet, with Nduja vodka sauce, made with spicy pork sausage, stracciatella cheese and pesto. We make our own focaccia.
Q. What is your personal favorite dish?
A. The Signora Amalfi. It’s the most unique with prosciutto, fig jam, gorgonzola cream, arugula, balsamic and EVOO.
Q. What’s your secret weapon ingredient?
A. My staff. Without them none of this would happen. They are a reflection of you. They are like a family to me. Some have no experience (in a restaurant). I just taught the dishwasher how to make bread.
Q. What is the one cooking technique that everyone should know?
A. Cutting an onion. All the founding sauces have diced onions. A 1/8 x 1/8 x 1/8 cut.
Q. If you could take any celebrity chef out to dinner, who would it be and where would you go?
A. Thomas Keller, because he is the most genuine, intelligent, calm…being calm is the most ideal (in the kitchen). I would take him to a soup dumpling shop.
Q. Do you have a favorite cookbook author or online chef?
A. Robert Irvine. (Robert Irvine is an English celebrity chef and talk show host who has appeared on several Food Network programs.) I especially like his cookbook, Impossible to Easy. Plus, I like all the Gordon Ramsey shows. The older ones are the most fun.
Q. What herb or spice best describes your personality and why?
A. Parsley because it’s mellow. People always want it in every dish. But it can be feisty sometimes.
Q. What do you like to cook when having guests at your home?
A. I would serve a fresh pasta dish and a fresh salad with steak.
Mozz & Co is located at 22 Raymond Road in West Hartford. A modern version of a traditional Italian deli, it offers catering, take-out and a full menu of grinders with wine, beer and cocktails, three salads, and three desserts. Call 860-969-6347 or go to www.mozznco.com.