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Joey," he tells a customer at his historically designated DiSalvo Station restaurant in Latrobe. "Not sir," he corrects.
As the owner of DiSalvo Station, which the Culinary Institute of America named one of America's most worthy destinations in 1996, Mr. DiSalvo is well-dressed and nattily groomed.
And his name is very much a part of of his presentation.
More than just a few identifying sylbles, 'Joey DiSalvo' is also a calling card. And it may explain why he refers to himself in the third person.
"Everybody knows Joey DiSalvo. Everybody knows Joey DiSalvo's family," said Mr. DiSalvo. "I'm the face to the name."
In case you haven't strayed out to Latrobe to dine at DiSalvo Station or seen his Internet show, meet Joey DiSalvo.
He wants to show you the good life.
To do so, Mr. DiSalvo, 35, has years of experience in the restaurant business, a high-powered hospitality education and plenty of awards and recognition. Plus he has a full menu of metaphors to help explain it all.
In the range of an hour-long interview, he'll strut his symbolic stuff repeatedly. He refers to his education as the polish on the diamond; his name as an identifying brand that is to the restaurant what Mickey Mouse is to Disney World; and himself as...