A Family Affair: Women In Business With Their Families – Rosa of Capri Pizzeria

A Family Affair is an ongoing series where we feature women who are in business with their families.

Name: Rosa Santaniello

City, State: Agawam, MA

Title and/or specialty: Co-Owner

Company/Organization Name: Capri Pizzeria & Catering
History: Capri first opened their doors in 1966 on Jackson Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In 1973, Capri moved to the place we all know now, 18 Cabot Street. In 1988, Fiore and Rosa bought the building next to Capri and opened up Capri Restaurant. In 2000, Fiore gave Capri Pizzeria a major facelift. He had closed down the restaurant, renovated the pizzeria, which tripled its’ seating space, offered catering, and gave it the look you see today. Today, Rosa is in charge of all catering efforts and acts as Head Chef. She brings traditional Italian cooking mixed with her personal recipes to create unique dishes.

What you do: Rosa is in charge of all aspects of Catering for Capri Pizza. Between shopping for food to use, to preparing and delivering the food. Although she does still work in the pizza shop, all catering efforts are done by Rosa and helped by her son Gennaro.

The dynamic of a family: Capri is and always has been family owned. Currently, Capri and run and owned by Fiore Santaniello (husband). They also have two of the three sons working alongside with them, Salvatore and Gennaro. While Rosa is in charge of all catering efforts, Fiore runs the business with the assisting managers Salvatore and Gennaro. This isn’t a 9 to 5 job, so they are all together 24/7. They live and work together and have gotten to know eachother very well.

Making your mark: All recipes in catering are her own or passed down from family. Rosa enjoys taking chances with food and creating dishes that suits the party she caters for. She is always learning and trying out new foods to her family to determine if it something that the public will like. She is not shy when it comes to trying new techniques.

My direction: In the next few years, we hope to really push the catering business of Capri Pizza. We hope to bring our unique, tasty dishes to corporate events, as well as family events and gatherings.

Are you a woman in business with her family? Send us an email.

This article originally appeared in Lioness, May 2012