A well-known chef in The Villages is ready to branch out with his own restaurant at Pinellas Plaza.
Roberto Manco has long been the executive chef at his brother Giovanni’s namesake restaurant at Southern Trace Plaza. This year, Giovanni’s Ristorante and Pizzeria will mark 15 years of serving Italian food in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown.
Roberto, who came to American from Naples, Italy, has been at his brother’s restaurant for more than a decade. Roberto studied at Ipssar Cavalcanti culinary institute in Naples.
He has long dreamed of running his own restaurant, and soon that dream will be coming true.
Roberto’s Ristorante and Pizzeria will be opening at Pinellas Plaza in the former home of the Evergreen Buffett & Grill. That restaurant never recovered from a 2016 health inspection which forced its temporary closure after an inspector found 29 live roaches. The rebranded Evergreen Bar & Grill also struggled and eventually the restaurant space was cut in half. The third restaurant attempted at the location, China Star, survives mostly on take-out business.
Roberto’s will occupy the 2,400-square-feet next to China Star.
