How It’s Made
“It’s been a dream of mine,” he says. “I always had this entrepreneurial interest; my first year out of Wabash I bought a hot dog stand. Then I got into banking and, before I knew it, it’s 25 years later.” Barry earned an MBA and began to take his career a new direction. The dream of a restaurant kept at him. “Finally, my Uncle Bob said, ‘If you don’t do this now, you’ll never do it.’” And Ravioli Oli was born. The first of what Barry hopes will become a chain of stores opened March 5 and is located in an Oak Brook, IL, commercial park with plenty of lunchtime customers. “It’s fast, affordable, and you leave with a good, fresh meal.” Barry says that while the recipes are Old World (they include his grandmother’s, along with those he’s developed himself), the process is all about efficiency. “It’s straight from [Wabash] Professor Steve Schmutte’s economics class—it’s division of labor. I’m the Henry Ford of ravioli making.” While Barry admits running the place is “extremely hard work,” it can be fun, too. Ravioli Oli’s offers pastamaking parties for kids. “The kids love it. They get little aprons and flour’s flying everywhere. I love the way it has all come together —it’s fun, and family-oriented.”
R AV I O L I O L I 2050 York Rd; Oak Brook, IL www.raviolioli.com
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