Steve DiFillippo is a

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...

and owner of the Davio’s restaurant group located in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Foxborough and the Avila’s restaurant in Boston. He is also the creator of a retail product line of spring rolls under the Davio’s brand.

Education

Steve DiFillippo graduated from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

in 1982 and attended The

Cambridge School of Culinary Arts Cambridge School of Culinary Arts (CSCA) is a professional school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers several certificate and professional programs, including a culinary studies and pastry specialization. It also offers a variety ...

. During his college years, DiFillippo filled multiple roles at the SeaSide restaurant in Boston and finally assumed the

executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that leads and manages the kitchen and chefs of a restaurant or hotel. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is ...

position once he graduated from culinary school.

Restaurants and business ventures

In 1985, DiFillippo purchased an existing restaurant named Davio’s. The original Davio’s was opened in 1977 as a family-owned Italian restaurant. DiFillippo retooled the menu, the space, and the wine list to better suit his own culinary heritage. DiFillippo opened Davio’s Philadelphia in 1999. At this location, he introduced an

open kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

concept and added an in-house bakery which produces all of Davio’s breads, desserts and homemade ice cream. In 2006, DiFillipo opened a restaurant under the separate brand Avila’s, focusing on pan-Mediterranean cuisine. DiFillippo launched the “Philly Cheese Steak Spring Roll” in 2007 as a retail product sold nationally within the US, ultimately expanding into a variety of flavor options. In 2008, DiFillipo opened Davio’s Patriot Place, which is located in the

Patriot Place Patriot Place is an open-air shopping center owned by The Kraft Group built around Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution. It is located in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The first phase opened in fall 2007, ...

complex in order to take advantage of the demand for pre- and post-game entertainment. In the fall of 2008 DiFillippo was inducted into the Massachusetts Restaurant Hall of Fame. DiFillippo opened Davio’s Atlanta in August 2010 at

Phipps Plaza Phipps Plaza is a shopping mall in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. It is located at the intersection of Peachtree Road ( SR 141) and Lenox Road (SR 141 Connector), adjacent to the Phipps Tower office building. The mall is currently ow ...

in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. His next venture is the opening of Davio’s New York across from

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

as well as another Davio’s location in his hometown of Lynnfield, Massachusetts, scheduled for the summer of 2013. On November 5, 2020 Davio's opened in The Colony as part of the Grandscape Development, one of the largest and most unique mixed-use real estate developments in the country upon completion. Located in the Dallas, Texas, metropolitan area and being developed by Nebraska Furniture Mart, a Berkshire Hathaway company, the project will stretch across more than 400 acres, and feature more than 3.9 million square feet of retail, entertainment, residential, dining and attractions.

Personal life

DiFillippo is actively involved in groups and boards including: Taste of the NFL, Rodman Ride for Kids, The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, Raising-a-Reader of Massachusetts and The Boston Dining Alliance. He is a contributing Vice Chair of the Board of Overseers of the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

, New England Region. He also contributes business and restaurant related articles to

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

. DiFillippo lives in

Wenham, Massachusetts Wenham () is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,979 at the time of the 2020 census. The town of Wenham, originally settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1643, has retained much of its historic character and rural scenery ...

with his wife Pamela and their two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DiFillippo, Steve American restaurateurs Living people Boston University alumni 1961 births