Anthony Scotto III already knows what he wants to do when his rapidly expanding restaurant business finally gives him a moment to breathe: travel to the small Italian island of Ischia and, with a handwritten family address in hand, knock on the door and hope whoever answers doesn’t tell him to get lost.
But first, Scotto has restaurants to open. The 30-year-old walked away from a sought-after job at BlackRock to help his family build Pelato, a Brooklyn-style Italian restaurant that has grown from one Nashville location into a three-city business employing 300 people. The company expects to serve roughly 450,000 guests this year and has committed to opening two more restaurants in 2027.