A local restaurant, formerly Benvenuti’s, changed ownership, but in the process, the new restaurant owner retained part of the kitchen staff that had been working with the former owner for nearly four decades.
Nate’s on Marsh, an Italian American restaurant, was founded by Nathan Long, a Cal Poly graduate. Owner of the former restaurant, Gennaro Rosato, had worked with Benito Aragon since 1986 and Marcelo Lopez since the early 2000s. The trust built between the three was a determining factor in keeping Aragon and Lopez in the kitchen when Nate’s on Marsh was created.
“Marcelo worked with me from the second day he came up here. Benito, I asked him to come up here and help Marcelo in the kitchen,” said Rosato.
“My niece, she worked here, so she asked Gennaro if he needed somebody to cook. So I come and work with him,” said Lopez.
“I started working for Gennaro washing dishes for six months,” said Aragon. “And then, I jumped to preparing food. I started working with Nate, so that’s why I stayed here. I like working here.”
“They’re hard working. They’re great people to be around. They’re super positive all the time. They never come in with a bad attitude. It’s really refreshing, in this industry, to have two people like that always come in positive,” said Libry Darusman, Nate’s on Marsh’s executive chef.
“They, honestly, are worth their weight in gold. I just know this industry has such a high turnover, so when I heard that he (Rosato) had two, and even front of the house servers, that had been with him for years, that’s something I really look up to and admire,” said Long. “I know that’s representing good leadership. People don’t typically leave their jobs; they leave their bosses. That was the first thing him and I touched base on was the existing staff and what we were going to do. I made it very clear that I would love whoever wanted to stay to stay.”
Nate’s on Marsh is located at 450 Marsh Street in San Luis Obispo and is open Wednesday-Sunday from 5-9:30 p.m.
