One of my favorite parts of working in the advertising industry is getting to know business owners who are passionate about their business! I love it. Last week I sat down with one of our clients, Brad Spehl, who is the current owner of Di Vino Rosso Italian Restaurant in the Vista. The passion he has for his restaurant was evident throughout our whole conversation. Enjoy, and go visit him at Di Vino Rosso soon! -Josh Madsen
When and how did you decide to start your company? Why did you choose it?
When I got out of school, I started working in a restaurant and thought it was the coolest thing ever. I started Steeplechase financial, but I couldn’t stay away from the restaurant industry forever. When I decided to buy Di Vino Rosso, I knew I wanted to make dishes that are unique. I’ve dedicated a lot of time to making Di Vino Rosso what it is now. A lot of the work that’s been done on our space I did by hand. If a pipe bursts or a lightbulb needs to be replaced, I’m the one who does it. I want to make sure every detail is perfect, even down to the glasses we use! Everywhere I go, I’m taking inspiration for this restaurant. I was in a restaurant in Portland and was served a drink in this really cool glass. I said to myself “I gotta have these” so when I got home I immediately ordered them for our brandy.
My goal has always been to create a unique experience. In 1919 our building was a Ford dealership so the space has a really special history. There is a 105 year old marble floor and original ceiling. The space is truly beautiful. However, we don’t want to be seen as a super fancy restaurant. We want you to come in, drink wine, be comfortable and enjoy yourself. Environment is huge for us and is what makes our restaurant special.
Owning a restaurant is scary and a ton of work, but I’m really glad I did it.
How has your company grown over the years?
We have been very fortunate in that Di Vino Rosso has a long history here in Columbia. The name has been around since the 80s. It was started by Fulvio Valsecchi on Devine street and then moved to Gervais. When I took over, we immediately had lots of customers and we have grown some over the years, but we have never had a bad year. We opened right after Covid was starting to wind down and it was okay to go out to eat again but still keep 6 feet distance.
We have been focused on fine tuning the volume that works for us. We can’t have more than 80 folks at a time. Fortunately we are sold out almost every night and that makes it special when people get a reservation. I see success as being more about the awards we have won. We have won multiple “Best Of” awards and an award of excellence from Wine Spectator. Our wine list has been named Top 5 in South Carolina. I also measure success by the fact that we are doing what needs to be done and doing it right. We have fantastic customer service, a quality environment. We put importance on the “small” things that the customer might not notice but really make a difference like furniture, glassware, even lightbulbs. I love our kitchen staff, I know the food will be great, but I want you to love the place and be wowed. Our chefs start at 9 in the morning for 5 o’clock service. Almost all of our food is made from scratch. The freezer we have in our kitchen is smaller than what most people have in their house!
What is your favorite thing about going to work?
My favorite thing there is seeing the employees creating something unique and being excited and having a great time working. Whenever I walk through the back, someone always asks me to try something new! They’ll have infused this with leaves from that, cooking using chemistry, I’m always amazed at what they’re doing. When the restaurant is open, I’m always up front and seeing customers. I always have repeat customers, and I love seeing them. I’m a big hugger so I am always up front giving hugs. It excites me to have a place that others are excited to visit!
Have your billboard ads been effective? If so, how have you seen them help your business?
We didn’t use billboards for so long and y’all gave us a really good deal to try them. Advertising is expensive and it’s also a risk because you might not see immediate return. I knew advertising was needed and so I thought, ” where is the best use of my money?” I thought, “the demographic I’m trying to reach is… me! I am the target. Someone who wants good food, good wine, and a great atmosphere. I asked my sales rep Dixie, how would someone reach me? I don’t read mail, I listen to Pandora radio, I skip commercials on TV! So how would someone reach me? Well, I am in the car every day and I see billboards and read them. I like the ones that are funny. So, I figured billboards would be fit! I wanted a billboard that didn’t have a number, I didn’t want you to call me. I wanted you to see my ad and just see the wine. The board was big, simple, and the logo and a wine glass was all that we used. I just wanted that brand recognition. I wanted people to see the board and really want to come here to learn more. Billboards were a lot of bang for the buck! I looked at other advertising options and billboards seemed to have way more audience for less money.
One of our problems is that we get a lot of people that don’t know we have a private dining room. The event room in the back can be a fantastic option for large gatherings. We can host company parties with custom menus and it’s a high end meal that is built for each customer. One of the billboards was all about book your event here. We put up the billboards in Q4 and had a big influx of people reaching out for that event space. I loved that the Grace team did everything for me. I didn’t have to do anything! It was effortless on my part. Yall designed the ad, helped place the boards in the perfect spots, it was super easy for me. As someone who is busy, I really don’t have the time to micromanage billboard campaigns. Working with the Grace team was quick and easy and I fully trusted Dixie, my sales rep. She is the expert so I let her guide the whole process. I always assumed billboards were so expensive so I never looked into it but it really was so much more affordable than I ever imagined and worked so much better than I thought too.
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