EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
18
Getting to know Larry D’Andrea
“Six to nine months of hard work, problem solving and following plans and architectural drawings to a tee boils down to four weeks of scratching my nuts waiting for an inspection to pass.”
by Stephanie Palmer
It’s 9 pm on the dot and still bright outside as we approach the corner of Victoria and Richmond. It’s a perfect Toronto summer’s eve and we’ve been invited to the opening of Terroni’s latest project, La Bettola. By my side is Larry D’Andrea, General Manager of Terroni on Adelaide and the man responsible for all Terroni construction and renovation projects. After months of planning, scheduling and building-to-code headaches, Larry is going to finally be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits of his labour…or will he? Beneath that mane of salt and pepper hair and behind his sparkling blue eyes there brews a storm of epic proportions. He is stewing about the yet-to-be-passed fire inspection. Despite the flood of well-intended congratulations and warm regards, Larry knows that it’s not a done deal until the inspector gives the official seal of approval. “They yield all the power. We are completely at their mercy,” Larry says, slightly exasperated. We scope out a place to sit but there’s not an empty spot in sight. With a room this spectacular that’s buzzing with chatter and clinking with glasses, no one seems very interested in giving up their seat anytime soon. We luckily get ourselves two coveted stools at the bar—and I mean luckily, because most of the friends, family and regulars who fill this room also know that Larry’s stomach keeps a very particular schedule. Disrupt it and the normally wellmannered, soft-spoken 52 year-old (who doesn’t look a day over 40) might have an episode. After quickly glancing at the menu, Larry places his order. “I’ll start with the bis di carpaccio di pesce and then I’ll
have the spaghetti al cacio e pepe. How about you Steph?” I let the bartender know that I’ll have the same and I ask for two glasses of prosecco which appear in a matter of seconds. “Salute—to a fantastic job!” I whisper. “Uh, uh,” he says waving his index finger in a gesture usually reserved to scold a four year old. “It ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.” Back in 1992, when Larry did his first renovation job for a couple of young Italian guys who were opening a grocery store, he would have celebrated after the last light bulb had been screwed in. But after 18 years and a boat load of Terroni renovations later, he’s learned not to jump the gun. Larry takes a deep breath, content in the fact that his new ‘best friend’, chef Luca Stracquadanio, will soon be preparing our food. And then, a bit out of character, he begins to tell the story of how he joined Cosimo and his team of Italian culinary dream weavers. “ Cosimo and I used to run in the same circle of friends, although he was a bit younger than me, so I knew him—but we didn’t exactly hang out. We had a mutual friend who I was very close with—and whose family owned the building at 720 Queen Street West—where Cosimo and Paolo decided to open their store. They asked me to come take a look at the space, which was an art gallery and framing shop, with the hope that I could renovate on a waiter’s budget of $7,000.” ‘So Larry, do you think we can do it on our budget?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll make it work.’ Only I was really thinking, How the hell am I going to pull this off for these guys?”
① While Larry’s classic good looks are a gift from his Friulian father, his fastidious stomach comes from his 100% Ciociara mother. She was born and raised in a small mountain village nestled in the Val di Comino region of Lazio, where Larry himself now spends family summer holidays in the house his nonno built to make olive oil in.
② Larry had been working in the construction business for over 20 years and had built over a hundred homes before he met Cosimo in 1992. Starting off as a carpenter in his early twenties, he worked his way up to the position of site foreman and quickly progressed to Project Manager. He even ran his own company for several years, building custom homes with many prominent Toronto architects.