I loved this interview in Tasting Table….
Mangia Meets Memphis: Cook a culinary mashup from the the Hog & Hominy guys
Some kids dream of gridiron greatness. Others wanna be rockstars. Memphis schoolmates Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman had different aspirations.
“We started talking about opening a restaurant together in eighth grade,” Ticer says. “Freshman year, between classes, we’d sketch out floor plans.”
Inspired by the home cooking of their Italian grandmothers, the two figured they’d improve the food of their hometown by bringing in the flavors of the old country.
But formative enthusiasms don’t always lead to solid business plans. “We were gonna name it Inizio, which is Italian for ‘the beginning,’” says Hudman with a chuckle.
Ticer: “The bar was going to be in the shape of the boot of Italy, with white neon running around it. How awful is that?”