Baked by Luigi | movie | 2022 | Official Trailer - video Dailymotion

A documentary short about Baked by Luigi (Midtown Manhattan) and its eccentric owner Luigi Vassallo; his life journey to | dG1fM0pwbnFFM0xubEk

Transcript

00:00Would you say you do it for the people?

00:06Yes, I do it for the people.

00:09A little bit of attention.

00:12Just like all of us, don't let them fool you.

00:14Everybody does something for attention.

00:18Mine just happens to be part of my whole stereotype, you know?

00:23Fat guy, skinny mustache.

00:27Makes pizza, owns a pizza shop, named Luigi.

00:32I'm going to get more stereotypical until I turn the music on in a little bit.

00:39My mom and dad had a pizzeria at an Italian restaurant when I was really young.

00:47And he literally used to take a milk crate and put it next to him at the pizza counter.

00:56And he would stretch the dough and put it on the board and then slide the board over.

01:02And I would put the sauce and cheese on it.

01:06You know, he was a big, fat Italian guy. He couldn't put it in the bottom of it like I could at 12 years old.

01:13And from there I pretty much decided I wanted nothing to do with the restaurant business.

01:22So I went to school for fashion design and merchandising.

01:31And while there I got a job at a local pizza shop because that's what I knew how to do.

01:41And then I ended up working for Bloomingdale's for a few years, I don't know, four or five years.

01:50And then in 2008 there was a recession and Bloomingdale's laid off 440 people from one store in one day.

02:03And I was pretty much low man on the totem pole.

02:06So I got the pink slip, I got the ax, and went back to making pizza.

02:15And I legitimately think I have been saving for this place since then, since that day.

02:21I had a pretty good idea that it wouldn't take years to start making a couple dollars.

02:28I mean, we're not making money yet. We're paying all the bills.

02:33You know, we're paying off whatever small loans we took.

02:38But, I mean, on the trajectory that we're on, if we stay there, we're doing pretty good this time next year.

02:50I don't even consider this work. No bullshit, hands down. I don't even consider it work.

02:54When you're talking to people like you guys, when you're friendly with your staff, it becomes like family.

03:02It becomes like, you know, just going home.

03:05You know, I wake up in the morning and I come home.

03:09Because at this point, it's pretty much my fucking home.

03:14Personality. Somebody that you want to talk to.

03:17Somebody that is not a dick when you walk in.

03:20We're going to get for you.

03:22And decent food.

03:25I really believe it's that simple.

03:35I believe it's that simple.