Photo via Modern Media Group
Cousin Vinny's co-owners Chef Vincent Andriotti (L) and Russell Leone (R).
Heading to 1331 W Cass St. directly next to Santoro’s Pizzeria, sandwich and chicken cutlet virtuoso Cousin Vinny’s is preparing for its soft opening.
Cousin Vinny’s—which operated a widely-popular to-go shop last year—specializes in “New York-inspired sandwiches” that are loaded with everything from the beloved, Italian-American chicken cutlet to classic cold cuts and fresh mozzarella.
Executive Chef and partner Vincent “Vinny” Andriotti and Operating Partner and co-owner Russell Leone came to know their other business partners Jake Schmidt and AJ DeSimone while they all attended the nearby University of Tampa more than a decade ago.
They launched Cousin Vinny’s in the spring 2023 out of a shared commercial kitchen space on Nebraska Avenue; it was no typical storefront as customers could only order sandwiches online and swing by to pick them up on Saturday or Sunday.
“We saw people driving from all over the Tampa Bay area and beyond to try these sandwiches on the weekend,” Andriotti tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. “Our customers were planning their weeks around picking up a sandwich on Saturday or Sunday—it was absolutely wild.”
After several months of success operating on a two-day service schedule, the ownership team decided that a proper storefront and standalone brick and mortar was in order. By summer 2023, they had signed the lease to the former Cass Street Deli space.
Since Cass Street Deli was only open a short time between 2019-2022, there was no need to rebuild its kitchen or small ordering area. While the Cousin Vinny team was hoping their brick and mortar would be open by the end of 2023, zoning paperwork and permitting with the City of Tampa slowed down progress.
While this year-long wait certainly wasn’t part of their opening timeline, both Leone and Andriotti say that they’ve used the time to develop their respective skills.
“It's a blessing in disguise because it allowed us to literally hone in on everything from operation and output to food quality and resourcing the highest quality products we can,” Leone explains. “ We're now able to source ingredients from different parts of Italy and are able to create relationships with our vendors.”
Andriotti has used the time to build on his bread making skills, as well as perfecting recipes both for Cousin Vinny’s soft opening and for future specials. He’s perfected both his meatball and focaccia recipe—two new options that folks can expect when Cousin Vinny’s makes its debut later this year.
While neither owner can disclose an exact opening date—especially since previous delays had stalled things even further than expected—they tell CL that Cousin Vinny’s will definitely be open by the end of the year.
Noho’s soon-to-open deli and sandwich hotspot will feature all of the heavy hitters from its ghost kitchen menu—like a variety of chicken cutlet or shredded beef sammies loaded with vodka sauce, roasted red peppers, housemade “red sauce,” fresh mozzarella, pesto aioli or bruschetta.
cousinvinnyssandwichco/Facebook
Cousin Vinny's "That Louie" with a chicken cutlet, roasted red peppers, pesto aoili and mozzarella.
Grab-and-go sides, a few desserts, cold sandwiches on Andriotti’s focaccia bread and a handful of non-sandwich, health-conscious items will eventually make their appearance on the Cousin Vinny menu, too .
After graduating from UT, Andriotti went to earn an online culinary degree before starting his own private chef business while working at local fine dining restaurants.
The boisterous Andriotti, who was once hidden from his customers in a ghost kitchen, is excited to interact with patrons in the restaurant’s open kitchen. He compares cooking and serving customers to performing, or entertaining in some sense.
“Now you're gonna see the production, the assembly, the everything—which is going to allow people to walk inside and understand that Cousin Vinny’s is a friendly, neighborhood spot,” Andriotti says enthusiastically. “We want it to be a place where you know you can be appreciated and welcomed by the whole staff. We don't have customers or guests—I like to say we have cousins.”
“We don't want to be a part of the Tampa restaurant community for just a few years—we want to be around for a very long time,” he continues."We’re not here to New York anyone’s Florida either."
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Since the soon-to-open Cousin Vinny’s only offers a handful of seats inside, most of its business will consist of take-out or to-go orders. During its soft opening phase, it will most likely offer operating hours of 11 a.m.-4 p.m. six days a week, with plans to extend them.
Since their previous customers have been patiently (or impatiently) waiting for Cousin Vinny’s to open, Leone says that their main goal during the soft opening is to not run out of food. Once things are up and running, they plan to launch catering service, too.
“We definitely want to help create that Little Italy vibe here in Tampa—like where we grew up, there was a great deli on every corner,” Leone says.
“But we’re not here to New York anyone’s Florida either—we just want to be a part of this growing community and provide the best version of ourselves, which is great food and hospitality,” Andriotti continues.
Head to @cousinvinnyssandwichco on Instagram for the latest news on Cousin Vinny’s 2024 opening. Although its owners couldn’t share a specific opening week, Leone says it’s coming “very very very soon.”
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