{"id":12822,"date":"2024-01-25T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T20:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=12822"},"modified":"2024-01-26T19:09:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T03:09:35","slug":"not-just-good-buono","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2024\/01\/25\/not-just-good-buono\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Just Good…Buono!"},"content":{"rendered":"
Frank Buono didn\u2019t always see himself owning his family\u2019s restaurant \u2014 but he came around to the idea in college.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe last thing I wanted to do was go into the family business,\u201d says Frank, now Buono\u2019s Pizzeria\u2019s general manager. \u201cBut I was just going to school for the sake of school, and then the restaurant space on Willow Street [in Long Beach] went on the market.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Seeing an opportunity to expand the restaurant, Frank had a change of heart. With his family\u2019s support, he spearheaded Buono\u2019s first venture out of San Pedro. The rest was history. \u201cMy dad let me fly, and I took charge of the family business. My brother George and I were responsible for its growth.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the following years, Frank and his family grew what started as a small deli into a restaurant that now boasts locations in San Pedro and Long Beach. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in November 2023, selling slices of pizza for just 50 cents a pop. But despite their recent milestone, success wasn\u2019t always on the menu at Buono\u2019s \u2014 in fact, the restaurant was born out of the family\u2019s struggle as a grocer and deli.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 1965, Frank\u2019s grandparents opened Buono\u2019s Italian Market and Deli on 15th and Gaffey, with Frank and his parents joining them two years later after moving from Italy to San Pedro. Despite being bakers by trade, the store wasn\u2019t doing well \u2014 their grocery sales lagged far behind their deli sales and dragged down business. The Buonos decided they needed to adapt and took their strong deli sales as a sign to return to their roots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n