Today we’d like to introduce you to Dino Venti.
Hi Dino, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I opened Venti’s Cafe with my brother Mike in 1996 in a small 750 sqft shop in the Historic Reed Opera House, a downtown retail epicenter In one of Salem’s oldest buildings. After about five years, I bought my brother out and spent a total of 12 years at the Reed learning the restaurant business and honing in my product profile. I expanded into a larger space just across Court St in 2008, where I expanded my menu and craft beer selection & added a cozy Basement Bar — a much needed space in a downtown that had only a few nightlife options.
Craft beer was a driver for me at this time, as Venti’s was one of the only establishments in Salem “Tapping” into it. I rode this wave into a second location, a full service Gastro Pub restaurant “Venti’s Taphouse,” est. 2011
The Taphouse celebrated the booming craft beer scene with beer pairing dinners, “Tap Takeovers”
live music and a variety of community events.
In 2018 I took on several partners one with an interest in Venti’s and 2 others in a new venture, Basil & Board, a “Stone Fired” Pizza Restaurant.
I was having success in all three of the locations, and then the Pandemic HIT!
This was the beginning of a several year spiral in an industry that was getting hit HARD!
My Venti’s partnership fell apart, which resulted in the closure of the Taphouse and selling my interest in Basil & Board. When the dust finally cleared after about 2 1/2 years I found myself back to one location. I went from having 87 employees back down to 16, downtown where I started. I returned to working in the restaurant on the floor, in the dish pit, “owner, manager, janitor,” after 15 + years of being locked down in the office.
With deep reflection over the last couple years, having celebrated 30 years this January, I have evolved my mindset from “this has happened to me” to “this happened for me,” as I have found a renewed passion for working in my restaurant — engaged with and serving my community, good clean, healthy food!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Having never worked in the restaurant industry, other than one month at Taco Bell when I was in high school, I have learned my trade in the trenches. starting with no employees as an owner operator, to at one point having three restaurants and almost 90 employees, I faced new challenges almost every day.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
One of our biggest recent innovations is the development of a plant-based first menu that also serves humanely raised hormone free high-quality meats. This means a lot to me personally, because I have been a vegetarian for over a decade andI want my business to reflect my own evolution. And as a business owner, I also understand how important it is to weave the business into the fabric of your community, I have done this by being civically active serving on multiple steering committees for the City of Salem, serving on the executive board for Travel Salem, I am also a passionate outdoor enthusiast, primarily a mountain biker and mountain bike trail builder. I am a founding board member of the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association (BRMBA), est.2004, which has managed almost 500 acres of Oregon Department of forestry land in Polk County Oregon, for freeride — gravity-focused mountain biking. I also have a seat on the Western Oregon Bureau of land management BLM resource advisory council(RAC) I represent the recreation interest for public access on these lands. I’m also a cofounder of the Resilient Headwaters Recreation Advocacy Group, focused on advocating and developing trail access in the Santiam Canyon, in the central Cascades of Oregon.
What matters most to you?
Building a loving relationship with my creator, being a good husband, being a good brother, being a good uncle, being a good dog father, being a good employer, being a good friend and giving back to my community.
Because this encompasses my entire life🌅
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Ventiscafe.com
- Instagram: Ventiscafe
- Facebook: Ventiscafe
