No matter where you are, family will bring you home. For the Patrizis of Beaumont, Texas, family means food. Cousins Nic and Matt Patrizi grew up in their family restaurant Patrizi’s (est. 1948) as did seemingly greater Beaumont. They worked in the back of the house and played in the front. The food was comforting, the conversation lively and everyone knew everyone. The original Patrizi’s was a focal point not just for Nic, Matt and their family, but for the community. But after nearly five decades, Patrizi’s closed its doors. 

Fast forward a decade or two. Nic is a McCombs School of Business graduate from UT, he’s gone on to have a not unsuccessful stint in finance and decided, “well, it’s not for me.” He’s bounced around in hospitality purgatory for a bit--a hotel here--restaurant there, before deciding enough is enough. It was time to re-open Patrizi’s. With some savings, and a little help from his friends, Nic and Matt opened Patrizi’s food truck in Austin, just off Manor Road sharing an outdoor space with Butterfly Bar and The Vortex Theatre. They’ve brought back many of his family recipes, and they’ve developed a few of their own. 

It wasn’t easy, and it still isn’t. Nic and Matt committed to running Patrizi’s a little differently than most restaurants. “There’s pride in the daily grind,” says Nic. “But I was sick at the industry and we wanted to do it right.” They worked non-stop and paid themselves less to pay their employees more. They scraped by for years. They committed to a slow growth business model and patiently stuck to it. “It took 5-6 years to be like, oh, we’re going to be okay” says Nic.

The cousins Patrizi are thankful for the opportunity to revive their family’s restaurant, as well as cultivate a family atmosphere. Today, Patrizi’s is a popular dinner spot in Cherrywood for all ages and Manor Rd as a whole has become a small Mecca in the Austin culinary scene. The greatest pleasure for the Patrizis is when it all comes back around. “People still mention the original Patrizi’s in Beaumont everyday” says Nic. “That’s what it’s all about for me.”