The Chicken Murphy ($10.95) is one of the restaurant’s top-selling dishes.[/caption]
Fresh ingredients, made-from-scratch entrees, attention to detail and hard work can equal success in the restaurant business. That is the case with Italian Garden, which is in its sixth year in McKinney. But although those factors appear to be simple and intuitive measures that any eatery can use, it is not always that easy, according to Italian Garden chefs.
Executive chef Besfort “Lil’ Benny” Polisi and his family are from Albania. He said his grandmother’s cooking influenced his love of food, the ingredients he uses and his attention to preparation. Much of the menu is based on her recipes.
The first Italian Garden location opened in Bonham, Texas. That location allowed Lil’ Benny to test his menu-building skills, he said. The restaurant was a success, but after getting married in 2008 and starting a family soon after, Lil’ Benny said he realized he needed his business to bring in more money.
His search for a new location led him to choose a spot that had seen four different restaurants fail.
“The landlord didn’t want to lease to another restaurant,” he said. “But of all the places I looked at, I kept coming back here. There was just something special about this location.
“I asked [the landlord] to come to Bonham to try the food. Then he said OK.”
For the first six months, business was slow, and it appeared the location might claim its fifth victim. Polisi admits that he was “scared.”
But Lil’ Benny said he and his older brother “Big Benny” kept working. Lil’ Benny said he was often in the kitchen cooking and making sure the dishes were consistent in quality. Visits to McKinney Chamber of Commerce meetings and churches helped promote the restaurant. And the quality of the entrees produced regular customers.
The menu features a wide variety of choices. There are 11 chicken dishes, including what has become Italian Garden’s specialty entree—Chicken Murphy. The entree features a chicken breast sauteed with fresh red peppers, mushrooms, onions and jalapenos in a white cream sauce with a touch of marinara served over spaghetti. The jalapenos give an Italian dish a
Texas Twist.
Classics such as pepperoni pizza (price varies) are also on the menu.[/caption]
Lil’ Benny is 30 and said he has been in the restaurant business since he was 16. He said his upbringing and background in the food business produces the restaurant’s specials and was the secret behind the Chicken Murphy.
“I’m cooking for myself,” he said. “I get in the kitchen, and I know what ingredients fit together. I experimented with the Chicken Murphy by just deciding to add a hint of jalapenos. Everybody that orders it loves it.”
There is a variation of the Chicken Murphy that includes breaded chicken or breaded shrimp.
“It’s totally Texas,” Lil’ Benny said.
Two preparation chefs start working at 10 a.m. each day. Lil’ Benny, Big Benny, their mother and their wives all help with running the family business. Four cooks, seven waitresses, two dishwashers, one busser, one hostess, one food runner and one cashier make up the roster for a typical evening of work.
Italian Garden also features New York-style pizza and on a busy night will make 150 to 160 pizzas, Lil Benny said. The restaurant also fills to-go orders for any item on the menu.
“The best advertising is happy customers,” he said. “Now it’s always busy. Using fresh ingredients makes the difference; we make everything here. You can’t fool your customers. They know if the food isn’t fresh.”
500 N. Custer Road, Ste. 100, McKinney 972-540-9333 www.italiangardenmckinney.com Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., closed Sun.
