The Gianni’s story begins in the most fascinating of all Italian cities, Naples. Enzo (Gianni’s Father) Mottola and wife Ada were both born and raised in the same neighborhood in the heart of naples. After getting married, the young couple saw little opportunity in Southern Italy in the early 1950’s. They followed two of Vince’s sisters who were “war brides” and came to the US

They arrived in 1954 and settled in Seattle in the  neighborhood commonly known as the “Garlic Gulch” because of its large italian immigrant population. Vince (Gianni’s Father) worked various jobs to support his young family, but his career interests kept returning to food. He had worked at a famous catering in Naples, and like almost every Neapolitan, had a passion, if not

fanaticism, for the food of his home town. In 1957 Vince and Ada (Gianni’s Mother and Father) opened their first restaurant with Vince manning the kitchen and Ada the cash register and tables. Their goals were simple: Provide authentic Italian meals at a price that families could afford. Just like the neighborhood restaurants of and pizzerias of Naples.