In September, Massi Co officially opened their doors. The Naples-style Italian eatery hit the Westport scene fast— the grand opening happened just a few weeks after Don Memo, the previous restaurant occupying the space, closed in August—but Massi Co represents a dream that owner Massimo Tullio has had for nearly two decades. “I have always wanted to do something like this,” Massimo tells Westport Lifestyle. “It’s been stirring up in me for 20 years, easily, and finally it was the right time.” That right time arrived because earlier this year, iconic Westport restaurateur Bill Taibe took ownership of his two Kawa Nis, in Westport and Denver, while his longtime partner Massimo took ownership of The Whelk and Don Memo. “Don Memo was amazing, but with the separation, now felt like the time for a new location,” he says. Westport Lifestyle sat down with the people who brought Massi Co to life—Massimo himself, executive chef Zach Hinman, who is also the chef at The Whelk, and head of operations Ingrid Paronich, a longtime hospitality world veteran who has her masters in Italian gastronomy and tourism from the University of Gastronomic Sciences—to dive deep on this new gem in our dining scene.
Westport Lifestyle: How did you all originally come together, and how did you figure out the concept for the restaurant?
Massimo Tullio, owner: Ingrid helped us open The Whelk in 2012, and Zach came on as the sous chef back when this was Jesup Hall. I had the right partners, so we said ‘this is the time to pivot, let’s do this.’ We didn’t want to do an American Italian restaurant. It’s our take on this classic, Southern-style restaurant. I went to Italy and studied in Naples on how to do Naples-style pizza, at the only school where you can get certified.
WL: Pizza school sounds amazing. What does it entail?
MT: It’s 13 days at the AVPN [Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana]. For Naples-style pizza, you can only use flour from the area, tomatoes from the area, and fior di latte or bufalo mozzarella from the area. And the ovens have to be brick. Everything is very specific. I was there every day from eight in the morning until seven at night just learning. I was making like 400 pies a day.
WL: And that’s how you make the Massi Co pizza?
MT: I do deviate just a hair, with a little more fermentation in my pizzas than they usually allow. But I had mentioned to them trying to figure out how to keep my certifications while doing a little more of that fermentation, because we’re using a sourdough starter for our dough. They’re working on it!
WL: What was your favorite part of putting together the concept for the restaurant?
MT: Eating! We did a couple of research trips into the city. My wife, Donna, did the decor, and it was her idea to include portraits of my family, so there’s that familial feeling in the decor. It’s really special. And the music! We updated the sound system and brought in hi-def speakers. We’re going to show off our record collection.
Zach Hinman, executive chef: For me, it was probably figuring out how to juggle everything. I went from American food at Jesup Hall to The Whelk, which is seafood-oriented, and I was at Kawa Ni for a while, which is Japanese, and then Mexican with Don Memo, and then Italian. That got me a skill where I can cook the style that I cook, while changing ingredients. Leading with seasonality, with just a little bit of that Mexican or Italian flair. Trying to do that all at the same time is what really made it fun for me.
Ingrid Paronich, head of operations: I really enjoy the creative part of this industry. It was challenging to think how do I take something like Italian cuisine, that’s been so tread upon, and make it fresh? How do I think of a new, creative way to enter this field?
WL: And how did you answer that for yourself?
IP: Trying to find a balance between giving people what they want and introducing something new to them. If we can be the restaurant that can provide a space for people to try some fresh version of a dish, with things that excite us, that excites me.
WL: What is your favorite thing that made it onto the menu?
IP: The Boqueroni pizza. We get these amazing yellow tomatoes.
MT: They’re from the Pompeii area, so they’ve got the volcanic activity underneath, and they get that mineral character. We make a cherry tomato sauce with them, so it’s a yellow sauce.
IP: And we do that with fresh cured anchovies, they’re like pickled almost. We layer those over the top. Salty-fishy is one of my favorite culinary flavor profiles, and you get the bright acidity from the yellow tomatoes, and the savory umami from the cheese. It’s just really awesome, and so interesting.
ZH: Our tuna crudo. My crudos are usually fruit-based and broth, and this one is totally different. Mass gave me the idea, and I ran with it, with the help of Ingrid suggesting some of the ingredients. We take our arancini [Italian rice balls], which we smash and then fry. We take Sorrento lemons, and we use the zest and make a Pecorino cream, so it’s citrusy but cheesy. And then the tuna goes on top, it’s almost like a play off nigiri.
MT: Mine is the escarole dish. I grew up with bitter, horrible escarole that my mom would make me eat. But I gave it to Zach, and it is insanely good. We do it with those same cherry tomatoes, but now they are confited.
ZH: It’s blanched to order with lemon juice, salt, seasoned bread crumbs, a little Pecorino, and those tomatoes.
MT: And our cookies! We call them the Tullio cookies. My mom has made them ever since I was a child. They’re just to die for.
WL: With all this delicious food, how has the Westport community responded to the restaurant so far?
MT: This might sound sappy, but the love I’m getting is so amazing. They just want to see us succeed. We love that we’re part of the community, and so when we show them these new things like Ingrid was talking about, they say I trust you.
ZH: Honestly, I like hearing negative feedback, because that’s the only way I can improve. I don’t know how to get better from compliments. But a few people said things that weren’t harsh, but were good to reflect on.
IP: The best thing I’ve heard so far is ‘if this is where you’re starting, this is great.’ We all know it isn’t going to be perfect right out of the gate. But it’s enough for me to know we started on the right foot.
WL: What are you most looking forward to in the future for Massi Co?
MT: I’m really invested in the pizza dough. I want to do cool new things at different fermentation levels. I love how reactive dough is, how alive it is. I just love everything about it.
ZH: I would say getting more comfortable with Italian cuisine and ingredients. I’m not Italian—at all—but I have experience with learning and grasping everything that gets thrown at me. Eventually, I will understand it and produce my best work. And I’m looking forward to getting to that level.
IP: For me, it’s engaging with the staff. Taking them along for the ride and educating them, giving them something interesting to think about when they come to work every day, instead of just, say, taking an order and putting it in the computer. And having them feel like they’re taken care of. This is the greatest job in the world when customers let you give them hospitality. All we want to do is give you an amazing experience.
This interview has been edited and condensed. Massi Co is located at 90 Post Road E. For more, visit massicowestport.com
"It was challenging to think how do I take something like Italian cuisine and make it fresh? If we can provide a space for people to try some fresh version of a dish, with things that excite us, that excites me."