Today we’d like to introduce you to Matt Vernon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Matt. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
The Lasagna House concept was started in 1942 by a Sicilian immigrant named Pete Pizzo, who brought his family’s recipes and his love of cooking to his Chicago neighborhood. Years later, he moved to Forest Park Illinois and in the late 70’s moved his business and his family to Houston, TX. Lasagna House has been family owned and operated for 75 years.
I started here as a customer in the 1990’s. I loved the food, so I applied here and was hired on as a server. Eventually, by showing love and devotion, I was promoted to management. After almost a decade as General Manager, the brothers who owned it for 20 years asked me if I wanted to buy the restaurant from them. I was thrilled. We had our first child in January 2013, and became new business owners in March 2013. The business next door accidentally burned down the entire building in 2015.
After years of working with contractors and insurance we are proud to announce we have finally reopened in the same spot we have called home for more than 35 years!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I don’t think any restaurant owner has a smooth road!
A neighboring business caught on fire and we sustained fire, smoke and water damage. Our roof, walls and carpet and most equipment had to be replaced. It took 26 months to rebuild. When we finally reopened we had to train an entire new staff.
During the rebuilding stage when we could not cook, we picked up a hobby and started our own restaurant garden. We are one of the few restaurants I know of that grows some of the food we cook here in the restaurant. We have a blood orange tree, fresh basil, grapes, peppers, eggplant and rosemary, all grown for service.
Please tell us about Lasagna House III.
Lasagna House is very proud of our lasagna (I am slightly biased). We hand make all of our own lasagna, manicotti, cannelloni. We hand roll our own meatballs, we grow our own eggplant. We hand craft each individual gnocchi, we make all of our desserts with love and passion. Our Chicago Beef sandwich is made with choice sliced ribeye. We buy all our draft beer from local independent brewers. We buy our produce from a local produce company. We shop small, support local and make our food from scratch.
We are also proud of our history and our staff. We have been around 75 years, a long time for a family owned restaurant. We continue to improve and grow without compromising quality or service.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Alas, owning a restaurant is an infinite learning experience.
We play with new and exciting recipes every day. We work on new ways to excite the staff and please the customers every day.
Every week is filled with delicious learning experiences and we adapt quickly to changing trends and the technology of food. We refuse to use GMO’s or MSG or weird science experiments which we don’t believe should be eaten. I can’t think of any one mistake, I just think any restaurant who stops improving will never get any better.
Pricing:
- Feed a family of 4 for only $35 (includes lasagna, salad and bread for 4 people)
Contact Info:
- Address: Lasagna House III
217 D Cypress Creek Parkway
Houston TX 77090 - Website: lasagnahouse.com
- Phone: 281-580-7797
- Email: matt@lasagnahouse.com
- Instagram: @lasagna_house_1960
- Facebook: @lasagnahouse1960
- Twitter: @lasagnahouse196
Image Credit:
Jacqueline Herrera
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