Amore owners open Grand Ticino for lunch, market fare

The owners of Amore Ristorante Italiano, a staple on the U.S. 280 corridor since 2005, have opened up a second restaurant serving lunch and takeout meals.

Jared Thornton and Dino Drakos procured the lease on the vacant space, formerly occupied by Bare Naked Noodles, and opened Grand Ticino by Amore on Jan. 4. Even with a quiet opening, word about the new restaurant spread quickly across social media and neighborhood pages.

The inspiration for the name comes as an homage to the Ticino region in Switzerland, which is Italian-speaking with architecture, cuisine and culture closely related to that of neighboring Italy.

Frank Roncado had already met the owners since opening his business, Gracie Barra jiu jitsu, in 2019, which is just a few doors down from Amore.

“They just needed a little help,” Roncado said. “I worked at restaurants during high school and college and was very familiar with it, so I just started helping out. I had some free time and started helping out in June and was just doing it to be a good friend.”

With Thornton owning other businesses and Drakos running Amore, Roncado was asked to step into the role of manager of Grand Ticino by Amore in October.

“It’s always been [on] a bucket-list of mine,” he said. “I went to college for a business degree so I could run a restaurant, and somewhere along the way, I did everything but that.”

The original plan was to turn the space into an events center, but because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they decided on a restaurant instead.

Grand Ticino by Amore

WHERE: 5511 U.S. 280, Suite 109

HOURS: Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (lunch); market open until 6 p.m.

WEB: grandticino.com

While lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the market is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and features options including lasagna and meatballs with plans to add more items. Roncado said the lunch menu isn’t the largest, but that it will get bigger.

The lunch menu features entrees, sandwiches, salads and “probably one of freshest tomato basil soups you’ve ever had,” Roncado said.

The inside space can seat 68 guests, and outdoor seating will open when warmer weather arrives.

Grand Ticino also features a market with take-away meals, sauces, salad dressings, charcuterie board meats and cheeses from western European countries, including Italy. Other items will include crackers, fine flour for making pizza dough or homemade noodles and more.

There are 10 full-time employees on staff, many of whom also work at Amore.

Grand Ticino features counter ordering, and everything is made fresh. While there is not a true crossover of menu items from Amore, Roncado said if you like the food at Amore, you’ll like what Grand Ticino has to offer.

“There will always be a difference,” Roncado said. “A lot of the sauces are the same, but our menu is more of an extension of Amore’s menu.”

Roncado will keep a busy schedule between running the restaurant and teaching 6 a.m. classes at Gracie Barra. However, he said he doesn’t mind at all.

“They’re not long days when you’re doing what you love,” he said. “To me this is happiness every day. I’m surrounded by great people here who are so kind and so nice. I realized I’m putting in 14- to 16-hour days six days a week, and I’m happy about it.”

Although there are a lot of possibilities, Roncado said they’re aware that they don’t want to overextend themselves.

“Lots of places open up fast and do well because everyone wants to try and then fizzle out because they can’t meet the demand,” he said. “We want to make sure we live up to the name across the street.”