Have you met Nick?

You can catch Nick cooking up platefuls of tasty breakfast eats in the kitchen of our Niagara Falls Sunset Grill.

“I genuinely enjoy what I do for a living,” says Nick. “I enjoy the kitchen, I enjoy working with food; I enjoy the people I work with,” he says passionately.

He’s been successfully operating the restaurant for almost three years, and is on-track to open another Sunset Grill in Fonthill later this year. He’s proud of the solid team he’s built, and believes that every role within the restaurant is an important one. “I treat all my staff the way I want to be treated,” he says modestly.

His first job was as a dishwasher when he was 13 years old, and he’s been working in the restaurant industry ever since. “I worked my way up from there,” he explains. He took a bit of a reprieve from the business a couple of years before opening Sunset Grill, to recharge. He found himself working construction, which was something completely different from what he was used to; however, he enjoyed it, and it gave him a newfound respect for the restaurant business.

His journey with us began back in 2011 when he first signed up, anxiously awaiting the day he could open his own Sunset Grill. Like most of our franchisees, Nick regularly dined at Sunset Grill, and was intrigued by the concept. “I talked to head office…and knew I wanted to be a part of it,” he says. “I liked the concept, and the food was always dynamite;” the service was fast, and the people were friendly, he adds. “And the rest is history.”

It’s his meticulousness and attention to the small details that keep his restaurant running smoothly. “I’m very meticulous,” he says. Before he locks up shop for the day, he always likes to make sure everything is in order and ready to go for the next morning. “I make sure [the restaurant is] clean, and that we’re set up for the next day,” Nick explains. “I make sure the spatulas are set properly, I make sure everything is topped up, such as the seasoning salt, and things like that.”

“The main [benefit], in my opinion, is the peace of mind,” he explains. “I have a young family, and I’m home by 5 p.m., give or take.” I can spend time with my family at home and not have to worry about what’s going on at the restaurant, because we’re closed, he adds.

When he’s not hustling in the kitchen, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Milena, their 18-month-old son, Mateo, and their dog, Datsyuk (also known as Baby Bear). And despite the fact that he’s a Leafs fan and she’s a Red Wings fan, they make it work.

The Oakville-native describes Father’s Day at Sunset Grill as organized chaos. It’s one of the busiest days of the year, but he enjoys every minute of it. Last year they gave away bottle openers to every dad that dined with them, and they were a big hit. He’s still not sure what he wants to do this year, but assures us it’s going to be something fun.

He’s looking forward to spending this Father’s Day with his loved ones. He comes from a big Italian family, and that closeness is something that’s always been important to him. “I look forward to spending time with my dad, we always have a big feast on Father’s Day,” he shares. “We go to my aunt’s place; she always hosts it. That’s a big joy for me…seeing [my dad] be a grandfather.”

He recalls the moment he watched his dad hold his son in his arms for the first time. “That was such a moving moment in my life,” he says with deep affection. “To me, Father’s Day is all about that recognition. I have this task of grooming [my son] to be a good person, [no matter what] he chooses to do in life down the road, and it seems so far away, but I also know it’s going to fly by.”

“It’s the best thing in the world, being a dad,” he says with pride. And he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

The next time you stop by for breakfast or lunch at our Niagara Falls Sunset Grill, be sure to say hi to Nick!

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