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Frank
Cipriano has turned his love of acting into a successful marketing tool
for his business. He’s proved that you can offer customers
more than great food—you can offer them a great experience as
well.
 Some
of Frank’s acting successes include a Weight
Watcher’s commercial, a Yellow Pages commercial aired in the
Vancouver area, a crazy security guard role in the movie “The
Void” and around 30 plays. Frank’s Italian father
sent him to cooking school in Italy when he was a teenager. About 20
years ago, Frank decided that he and his wife needed a place to settle
down, so they started looking for a space to open a small Italian
del/co.
THE
ROUTINE
Frank found a place that seated 60 people, and realized he could also
do parties. He decided to buy the place. They opened up
Cipriano’s and were doing mostly delivery and takeout orders.
One night they were packed with several people that knew Frank. A guy
called out to him to do a stand-up routine. “I came out and
sang ‘That’s Amore!’ and performed for
about 20 minutes,” Frank says. “My friends and the
people that were there went out and told everyone they knew about the
act. The next night the place was packed with new people.
It’s been a tradition ever since.”
Once the restaurant is full, which is usually about 8:30 or 9 p.m., the
restaurant’s doors are locked, and Frank comes out with his
song and act. He says the act has gotten so successful he’s
had to stop doing delivery completely. “We’re so
busy inside that we don’t have the space or staff to do the
deliveries.”
Frank says his material is clean, so he appeals to all audiences.
“My goal is to make people forget about their mortgages and
car payments with a laugh and a pizza.” He does reservations
because of the popularity of the act. He says that to get a table
people have to call about a week in advance. Frank says many people
come in not telling their guests about the comedy act. "They just tell
them about this great Italian place they found."
THE
BUSINESS
The restaurant is located in the downtown section of Vancouver, and the
clientele is across the board including actors, doctors and
construction workers. Two couples aged 35 to 55 make up the average
table at Cipriano’s. He says there are usually a couple
hundred people coming in every weekend.
Frank offers pizzas by the topping along with three specialty pizzas
including the Wise Guy (a supreme), the Veggie and Big Al’s
(all meat) in three sizes: 10, 12, and 14-inch. He also offers daily
specials on pizzas. Another way he promotes his pizza is a menu special
for two large pieces of garlic bread and two sodas or Italian sodas.
Frank says many people that come in order a pizza for an appetizer for
the table, and then order some of the specialty pasta dishes. Frank
says his bestseller is the Mama Cipriano’s Feast. With the
feast customers get a choice of salads, bruschetta, garlic bread, any
entrée on the menu, a beverage and dessert all for $24.95.
He sells over 100 of these a week.
Pick-up orders are handled through a side door of the restaurant after
it is locked up for the comedy act. The most popular takeout order is
pizza. Frank says people pick up over 100 pizzas a week, but most of
the business comes from dine-in—around 80 percent. Frank has
five employees working during a shift: a manager, a chef and two
waiters. Bar sales make up about 20 percent of his sales, with wine and
beer being the biggest sellers.
Cipriano’s is only open at night for two reasons: Frank is
still acting and uses his days to audition and act in the roles he
lands, and the restaurant is a little more upscale. Frank says it works
best for him to have dinner only. I asked him if his acting ever gets
him recognized. "When I did the Yellow Pages commercial, the restaurant
would get busy because they would see me on TV." Frank says he likes
the balance of acting and business. “It’s fun to
act, and then come back down to reality.”
Frank’s restaurant is open only five days out of the week,
and most things are made from scratch each day in the restaurant. They
make all their own pastas and sauces, and he says it’s
managed well on a daily basis. Since they close the restaurant down on
Sunday and Monday, they essentially sell out each week and start with
fresh products on Tuesday. Because they order just enough for the week,
spoilage is not an issue.
ACTOR
AND RESTAURATEUR
Frank says he has never advertised his restaurant, and says he never
will. With the comedy act, people are telling five to seven new people
each week about the place, he says. The place is as busy as he can
handle. Frank is considering opening up a satellite store to handle
pickups and maybe restarting delivery.
Frank Cipriano is an actor by day and pizzeria owner by night. He says
he has struggled deciding whether he loves food or acting more, so he
does both. During the day he auditions for small acting roles including
commercials and films. At night, he runs his Italian restaurant, which
he says gives him a balance between acting and reality.
–
PMQ –
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