There are some changes to announce at Stefano’s Trattoria, the popular Italian restaurant in Winter Springs. Beginning on July 18, the restaurant will be closed on Sundays. Owner F. Alejandro Martinez said that he and his executive chef, Lewis English, decided it was the best way to take some of the pressure off of the staff.
“Business is busier than ever,” he said in a message, “and we are exhausted.” He continued: “I want always to offer the best quality and service and this is why [we] decided to make this decision. We need time with our families and to recharge.”
Stefano’s has 54 employees, more than half of them in the kitchen. Martinez says that his restaurant, unlike many others following the pandemic, had very little turnover.
The restaurant did lose its sous chef, Austin Suchankek, but it was to love. She got married and moved to Missouri (after giving Martinez a six-month notice). Suchanek was one of the first to participate in a Scott’s Kitchen video, demonstrating how to make the restaurant’s popular Tortellini di Stefano.
Replacing Suchanek as sous chef is Chaz Morales, who has been with Stefano’s for two years and who Martinez describes as a “sauté genius.” Morales’ first job in a restaurant was washing dishes at age 15 in a Bagel King. He took culinary classes in high school and decided cooking was was what he wanted to do.
In a note, Morales (left) said that he enjoys the hectic atmosphere of a busy kitchen. “Besides having a huge passion for food the work environment itself is something hard to resist as well’ He wrote. “The fast-paced nature of this workplace keeps me on my feet and constantly moving.”
But beginning July 18, he’ll have to just stop moving on Sundays.
