- September 14, 2024
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Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria owner Robert Profeta stands in front of the sign painted by local artist Chloe Bogicevic. Photo by Michele Meyers
Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria is open for business. It is located at 1140 W. Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach. Photo by Michele Meyers
Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria is open for business. It is located at 1140 W. Granada Blvd. in Ormond Beach. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta poses in front of the new Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria sign during the grand opening on Monday, Aug. 26. Photo by Michele Meyers
Artist Chloe Bogicevic was hired to paint murals in three areas of Profetta's including two domed areas of the ceiling. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta stands in front of the bar at his newly opened restaurant--Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. He networked with many local businesses which enabled him to open in less than two months. Photo by Michele Meyers
Daytona State College students Alysa Dresner (left) and Tonea Jackson (right) greet guests as they enter Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Daytona State College students Alysa Dresner (left) and Tonea Jackson (right) pose in front of the "special of the week" board at Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
College student Lamarion Martin waits for customers to arrivve at the grand opening of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta (left) poses with his grandfather, Arthur Hagland, at the grand opening of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Lori McMullin (left), Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce Director of Membership Sales & Business Development, addresses Robert Profeta and his friends and family before the ribbon cutting at Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta thanks everyone for attending the ribbon cutting ceremony at the grand opening of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta (left) addresses everyone during the grand opening and ribbon cutting at Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta reveals the future banquet hall which will seat 100-plus people. He said he would also love to add catering to Profeta's list of offerings, eventually. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta (center) prepares to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of his business--Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta (center) cuts the ribbon at the grand opening of his business--Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta, friends and family cheer at the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for the grand opening of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Business owner Robert Profeta (left) and Lori Tolland, City Commissioner for Zone 1 stand in front of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria at the ribbon cutting. Photo by Michele Meyers
Arthur Hagland (center) pitches in to help his grandson Robert Profeta run the bar at Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Hagland owned a bar in Gaeta, Italy. Photo by Michele Meyers
Musician Brody Mullikin performs at the grand opening and ribbon cutting for Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Robert Profeta (center) talks with friends Jathan Morgan (left) and Kiro Abdalla (right) at the grand opening of Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria. Photo by Michele Meyers
Profeta’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria owner Robert Profeta welcomed patrons to his grand opening as Ella Fitzgerald’s voice filled the dining area with the song “It Don’t Mean a Thing, (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)”.
Ambassadors from the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce attended the event and performed the official ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, August. 26. Lori McMullin, director of Membership Sales and Business Development, addressed the crowd.
“We are elated to be here for the grand opening of Profeta’s,” she said. “As an Ormondite — I live around the corner — I’m especially thrilled. I can’t wait to eat every dish you have.”
Ormond Beach Zone 1 City Commissioner Lori Tolland also attended the ceremony. Anytime she can support people in the community, she said, she does her best to be there.
“Whenever anybody follows their dreams and passions, works hard toward it and has the support of their family, it’s going to be a success,” Tolland said. “I think he will be a good role model for others. Not everybody has to follow the traditional track. I 100% agree with that because not everyone fits in the same box.”
Profeta said his family history, coupled with a desire to bring genuine Italian food to the area, were his inspirations to open the restaurant. Both his mother’s and father’s families immigrated from Italy. His maternal grandfather, Arthur Hagland, was born in Philadelphia but was later stationed in Gaeta, Italy, after being drafted for the Vietnam War. That is where he met and married Profeta’s grandmother, Fernanda, and also owned a bar.
... That’s one of the main things I like to do—interact with the customers so they know this isn’t just some chain, this is real authentic cuisine, owned by somebody." — ROBERT PROFETA, owner Profeta's Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria
His father was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and his mother’s family traveled from Italy to New Jersey with their final destination being Port Orange, where Hagland owned a restaurant in the ’90s.
“I’m the only one in the family that doesn’t speak Italian,” Profeta said.
Profeta, 22, is a Port Orange native. He attended Atlantic High School where he took Advanced Placement courses while simultaneously attending Daytona State College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He graduated from high school in 2020 with 60-plus credits. He enrolled at ERAU to become a pilot but switched majors and graduated last year with a bachelor’s degree in aviation logistics and supply chain management.
Profeta said he is always striving to do business and is entrepreneurial by nature. He started an automotive detailing and paint correction company when he was around 18 years old, which he currently owns and operates as Ceramic Touch Detailing, LLC. When he heard the restaurant space was available at 1140 W. Granada Blvd., he said it just made sense.
“I heard the business was shutting down,” he said. “It’s a great location — a beautiful building. The timing was just right for everything.”
The Granada Family Diner closed on July 7, Profeta learned of the closure on July 9 and his restaurant was fully operational by Aug. 26. He said networking was the reason he was able to open in less than two months.
“One of the biggest things I have learned is that networking is your cheat code for true success,” he said. “If you get to know the people and figure out what they’re skilled at, you could work something with them. It’s having those true networks to where you can really get a project done, not only quickly and efficiently but also, the right way.”
Profeta hired businesses who installed new lighting, decorated the interior, painted and worked on the plumbing and electrical. Through a friend, he hired artist Chloe Bogivec who he commissioned to complete two murals on the domed sections of the ceiling and a business logo that covered one of the front interior walls. He collaborated with chef Jeffrey Miller, who specializes in Italian and French cuisine, to design a menu which they executed in recipe creation. It included his own Profeta’s house sauce—a sundried tomato parmesan cream sauce.
Friends and family were there to support Profeta at the grand opening. Hagland helped customers at the bar, friends Brody Mullikin played the guitar and sang while Jathan Morgan helped wherever he was needed. Kiro Abdalla, the Volusia Young Professionals marketing chair, said he was there to support young professional entrepreneurship and his best friend.
“He’s been dreaming about this for a while, big time,” Abdalla said. “He’s focusing on bringing that Italian sense and vibe here. We used to talk about how we don’t have an Italian ‘good spot.’ Now all of us are hooked over here. We are going to come here every day and eat.”
Profeta said he wants people to feel at home when they walk through the door. He wants the community to know it is a good place to get great Italian food consistently. That means, every time they eat at his restaurant.
“Whenever I go to restaurants, for me personally, I like somebody to come to the table, that’s called table-touching,” he said. “It’s basically to make sure that the customers got excellent service, find out how everything was and what they would want to improve — the whole nine yards. That’s one of the main things I like to do — interact with the customers so they know this isn’t just some chain, this is real authentic cuisine, owned by somebody.”
Visit profetastrattoria.com.
