Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Pasta AND Present: Muscis overcome career obstacles to open Italian restaurant in Las Vegas

If everyone's life could be summed up by a book title, Tony and Janina Musci's might be "The Princess and the Pauper." The two could scarcely be more opposite in their economic and social upbringing. Janina grew up "spoiled rotten" as an only child in Toronto; Tony spent most of his childhood in an orphanage in Italy because his father could not afford to care for him.

Their book would contain all the traditional elements: Love at first sight, chance encounters, fortunes gained and lost, and a journey spanning thousands of miles.

While their book isn't finished, it's likely the last few chapters will involve Anna Bella, the Italian restaurant in Las Vegas they took over nearly nine years ago.

The intimate eatery at the intersection of Sandhill and Desert Inn roads partly resembles the interior of a family's home, with snapshots adorning the walls near the entrance.

A floral-patterned carpet lines the main dining area, which contains 17 booths with latticework trim and five tables with beige tablecloths and red napkins. The centerpiece is a brick fireplace, next to which sits a gold cappuccino machine.

Christmas lights strung around the perimeter contrast with brick walls. Sconces highlight the booths on the restaurant's southern wall, and paintings of Italy help provide ambience.

In addition to a flattering write-up in the most recent Zagat survey of restaurants in Las Vegas ("It's like walking into a Godfather' movie"), the Muscis have received several laudatory notices in regional publications.

And the Muscis plan to live out the remainder of their lives in Las Vegas happily ever after, if possible.

Humble beginnings

Tony was born in Bari, Italy, in 1952, but he doesn't have many memories of his mother, Nunzia she died when he was 5, and he and three of his other brothers (there were a total of five) were sent to be raised by nuns in orphanages by his father, Sante, who worked for the city and couldn't afford to raise five children on his salary.

Tony spent eight years at the orphanage with his brother, Agostino (the other brothers were sent to a separate facility, and the youngest brother, only a year old at the time, stayed with relatives). Most of his childhood memories are of "getting up, changing, going to class, taking recess, studying and going to bed."

"It was a very sad time," Janina adds.

But through the experience Tony was introduced to one of his true loves: soccer. "It was the only sport they offered," Tony said. He took to the sport quickly and soon became one of the team's best players.

His soccer reputation only grew in junior high.

"I was the star of the team," Tony said. "My name would be on the P.A. all the time."

Planting the seeds

Tony's father married Rosa Musci, and Tony bonded with her the three years he remained in Italy. His fondest memories were of her cooking.

"She's an excellent cook," Tony said. "I'd always be there in the kitchen to see what she was cooking. She didn't want me to help, but I insisted."

Tony's fortunes worsened when he turned 16. He wanted to attend high school and pursue soccer as a career, but his father could not afford it. Sante turned to an aunt and uncle who lived in Toronto, and they offered to take Tony in and let him attend school there.

Tony quickly fit in at school, even though he spoke not one word of English. In addition to soccer, he also pursued basketball, volleyball and football.

"He became the lead role model of his class," Janina said.

He also started putting his stepmother's cooking pointers to work at a Holiday Inn in Toronto in 1968. But it was part-time; he never considered cooking as a career.

"I was the kitchen helper, and they wanted me to be the chef," Tony said. "I told them, 'I don't want to be in this business.' "

Most valuable

Tony excelled in school, learning not only English but also French and Latin.

And before he was even out of high school, Tony was recruited by a scout for a junior team, the Toronto Olympia -- composed mostly of Germans who spoke little English.

"The way they talked, I thought they were going to kill each other," Tony said, laughing. He soon left that team for the Italian team, where he continued to excel.

Tony wanted to pursue soccer full time, but when he discovered the pay wasn't enough to live on, he took a variety of jobs to make ends meet.

One of those jobs was music -- specifically, singing.

"We used to have soccer dances, and occasionally I would sing at them," Tony said. "A friend who heard me sing asked if I wanted to join his band. Our first gig was a wedding."

Janina said Tony "had a beautiful voice," to which Tony began to sing: "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie ..."

His musical phase lasted from 1971 to 1973, and it was during this period that all the pieces of Tony's life would come together.

During his singing years, Tony also took a part-time job delivering pizzas for a friend's Italian restaurant. One night, while waiting for the night's supply of pies, he found himself faced with the chance to put Rosa's teachings to work.

"They got an order, and one sister said to the other sister, 'You go make the pizza.' The other one said, 'You make it.' So I got up and made the pizza. They couldn't believe how good it was," Tony said.

By 1974 his singing career was over, but a new one had begun. Tony became head cook of the restaurant, and made, as he describes it, "some of the best pizzas you've ever had."

Love at first sight

Janina was born Aug. 28, 1957, in Toronto, to Italian-born parents. (Her father moved to Toronto at age 13, her mother at age 20.)

She was the family's only child until age 10, which she attributed to her parents' busy lifestyle.

"My mother worked. I was like the princess. My aunt spoiled me terribly," she remembers. The arrival of her brother (on Christmas Eve) "was the best thing that ever happened to me. It humbled me."

Janina's true passions while growing up were fashion and cosmetics, and she also had an avid interest in the theater. One of her proudest moments was performing in a school production of "Bonnie and Clyde" -- as Clyde.

"If I hadn't met my husband, I would have gone to acting school," Janina said.

She and Tony attended Vincent Massey Collegiate in Toronto at the same time, but they met for the first time away from the campus in 1970.

"He drove up with my aunt's brother-in-law, who was playing soccer with Tony at the time," she said. "He couldn't take his eyes off me."

In 1971 Janina got a call from a friend who needed her help. A server at a neighborhood restaurant had gotten sick, and Janina begrudgingly agreed to fill in.

"I'd never served food in my life," she said. "I felt like I had no idea what I was doing."

It turned out to be the same restaurant where Tony worked as a cook, but that night Tony wasn't in the kitchen: He was onstage singing with his band.

"That was an amazing night," she said. "In addition to everything else, I got a $10 tip at the end of the night from a customer. The restaurant ended up hiring me, and I became the lead server."

Starting out

The Muscis were married in 1976, shortly after Janina graduated from high school. Tony still played soccer occasionally, but by then had a job at Canadian Tire Corp. as warehouse manager, while Janina worked as an office assistant at a department store.

Their son, Adrian, was born in 1979, and the Muscis moved to San Juan Capistrano in Southern California in 1980. Janina's uncle, who worked in the construction industry there, needed a superintendent, and wanted a family member for the job.

Tony and Janina were glad to be in California, but the lifestyle proved draining -- especially now that they had a child and both parents had to work.

"Tony had a 1 1/2-hour commute both ways to and from work," said Janina, who took a job as an executive secretary in Newport Beach. "It was too exhausting."

Both were laid off in the wake of the early '80s stock crash, and the Muscis, realizing they had a talent for the restaurant industry, wasted no time moving on.

Janina's parents, who had wanted to move to California earlier to retire and see their grandson, moved over and helped Tony open a pizzeria in Laguna Hills, D'Angelo Trattoria, in 1982.

The restaurant did well, and in 1985 Tony and Janina opened their own restaurant, Adriano's (named after their son), in Santa Ana.

"We were an immediate success," Janina said. "There were a lot of corporate offices nearby. In six months, we doubled our seating capacity."

They also learned what would be the first of many of the harsh realities of the business world. A restaurant in Beverly Hills called Adriano's threatened to sue them. They had to change the name to Ristorante Armonia ("Harmony") -- which, to their relief, didn't hurt its business.

Vegas bound

In 1994 one of the Muscis' clients recommended they check out Las Vegas for business opportunities.

"He owned restaurants in California and wanted us to operate one for him here," Janina remembers.

They came to take a look, but at the same time they were checking out the entrepreneur's property, they learned a family friend was considering purchasing a shopping center elsewhere in Las Vegas.

"We came over to take a look at it and fell in love with this restaurant," Janina said. "He never bought the center, but we never gave moving in a second thought."

They kept the name of the establishment, Anna Bella (which means "Beautiful Anne," named for the previous owner's wife), in order to keep the current clientele, and built business solely by word of mouth.

"When we moved in, we put up a banner saying, 'Under new Italian management,' " Janina said. "We're the longest restaurant to stay at this location in the center's 23-year history."

Neither of the Muscis currently cook for the restaurant. Tony takes care of the front of the house, and Janina helps with planning the menu and building clientele. Their employees include a chef, an assistant and Janina's brother-in-law.

Their diverse menu includes rigatoni pugliese (diced chicken breast, fresh mushrooms, garlic, spicy red pepper and a light marinara cream sauce), polla alla Tony (boneless chicken breast lightly breaded, herbs, garlic and a white wine sauce) and melan zane alla parmigiana (baked eggplant, mozzarella cheese and marinara served with a side of pasta and vegetables).

Three or four different specialities are offered every day, and the Muscis' 120-seat-capacity establishment also offers a healthy wine list and at least 10 different types of vodka.

Labor's fruits

Despite the level of success they enjoy, the Muscis have no plans to open a second restaurant.

"I've worked harder in eight and a half years here than all my years in California," Janina said. "Las Vegas is a different animal. I spend all my time ensuring the quality of service and food, and making sure the customers are happy."

"Your free time is very limited," Tony added. "And we're always here. Ask anybody. Most of our social time is spent with our clients."

The rest is spent with their families.

Janina's parents retired in 1999 and moved to Las Vegas to be with their kids. In addition, Janina's brother lives in Las Vegas, and Tony's brother Agostino, 55, has been with the family since the original restaurant opened in California.

The rest of Tony's family still lives in Italy, including Rosa, who he visits once a year. (His father has passed away, as has his oldest brother.)

And Janina's acting aspirations live on in her son, who signed with a modeling agency at age 18 and is looking at getting into films.

Adrian, who recently graduated from Loyola Marymount University, now lives part-time in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and in between his own career he helps out at the restaurant when needed.

While Tony and Janina love the business they've chosen, both admit they would not want their son to continue the business.

In 1995 the Muscis nearly went bankrupt when they sold their California restaurant to people who turned out to be con artists. The ugly resolution, coupled with attorney's fees, almost made them quit the business entirely.

Citing the movie "Seabiscuit" as one of her inspirations, Janina said, "We've been through so much pain at times, and when you have obstacles it's easy to walk away. But I'm not a quitter. I don't feel sorry for people who say, 'I can't do this.' "

Tony, who feels his perseverance got him where he is today, looked at his wife and smiled.

"Don't ever give up, no matter how hard it gets," Tony said. "One thing I always remember is our customers are our family. Without them we wouldn't be here."

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