JOEY CRUGNALE, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN

NAKED RESTAURANTS

Joey Crugnale Photo by adrianobatti.com

Joey Crugnale, founder and President of Naked Restaurants, has food in his blood. From his earliest days as a young boy in Italy, learning about food preparation at the foot of his grandmother, Joey has been intrigued by how to present the finest foods and beverages for the dining pleasure of guests.

While still in his early 20s, Joey became a partner in Steve’s Ice Cream, then a single outlet in his native Somerville, Massachusetts, which was the earliest rendition of gourmet ice cream. Joey noticed how this small store managed to draw and sustain crowds no matter what time of year. Joey eventually took over Steve’s Ice Cream, and created both a national franchise of some 26 units and a new food niche, which led to the rise of gourmet ice creams like Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s today. Thus began Joey’s fascination and success in taking something ordinary and simple, and by adding a new element, creating an entirely new category.

Drawing upon that experience, Joey then turned his attention to a dining experience much closer to his own family: high quality pizza and pasta. Joey successfully established Bertucci’s in 1982, and introduced the in-restaurant wood-fired brick oven that enabled diners to see food prepared in front of their eyes. Bertucci’s caught on like wildfire, and spurred new consumer interest and demand for gourmet-style pizza. Yet again, Joey took something simple, and created a new niche by adding his distinctive new touch. Under Joey’s supervision as President and CEO, Bertucci’s grew to more than 90 restaurants nationwide, and it became a successful publicly traded company in 1991. Over the years, Bertucci’s was listed for several years among Inc. Magazine’s 500 Fastest Growing Companies and Joey Crugnale himself won Inc.’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1989.

Since leaving Bertucci’s, Joey has sought inspiration for his next venture throughout the world. He returned to Boston to establish Naked Restaurants as an incubator and launcher of innovative and exciting dining alternatives because he knew he had more than a single idea. His proven taste and ingenuity has led to this year’s launch of Naked Fish Restaurants in Greater Boston, by which he is once again bringing his trademarked wood-fired grill approach to a new and clear market niche: fresh fish and meats. He also divined the growing popularity of Latin style, both in music and as a novel ingredient to food, and has deftly applied just the faintest touch of Cubanismo to Naked Fish Restaurants.

As Joey himself says, "Naked Fish is more than just a restaurant: it’s a philosophy. I deliberately chose Naked Fish to be provocative and memorable, as well as to represent what I think is best about contemporary food preparation. My goal is to celebrate the fresh riches of the earth and sea, not disguise them, for the dining pleasure of my guests. At Naked Fish, we cook with fire, we create with passion and we dance the Samba!"

Joey Crugnale was born in Sulmona, Italy and moved to Boston’s famed North End and then Somerville, Massachusetts as a child. He gained early experience in the hospitality industry at the Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge while earning an associate’s degree in business from Bryant & Stratton College. He and his wife Paula live in Belmont with their two children.

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