Giuseppe (Joe) Ricciardi, who has never been shy about betting on business, did just that. Dolce Vita, his authentic Italian eatery, is a longtime institution in Fairfax, Va. And now, he has opened Dolce Veloce Cicchetti Wine Bar directly next door. The bold decision has not cannibalized or diluted his existing clientele as one would expect—it is actually a complement to the original, driving more traffic, offering Ricciardi’s new and long-standing customers additional choices and comfort.

Ricciardi beat the dismal restaurant success odds with an enduring work ethic, focused ambition, bold risk taking, good food and a great respect for the customer. These essential elements might seem obvious, but they are difficult to find in many long-established businesses. Born in Avellino, near Naples Italy, Ricciardi’s family moved to Glen Cove, Long Island when he was 14. “My father died soon after our arrival,” he says. “My mother was left with nothing. As the oldest boy, I needed to help support the family. I needed to bring home the bacon.” Ricciardi worked in kitchens, went to school and juggled three jobs in summer. At 18, he bought a restaurant. At 20, he bought another. “I was young and full of energy,” he says. “I knew I could succeed.”

You Can Bet On It
In 1984, a friend challenged Ricciardi to a bet—open yet another restaurant within six months. Ricciardi accepted the wager and embraced the task. After much research, he decided to bring his traditional Italian cuisine to the Washington, D.C., area and in five months he opened Pino’s Italian Restaurant in Burke Center, Va. Four years later he added Pino’s Café in Fairfax. The region resonated with Ricciardi and he sold his New York restaurants, making a permanent move to Virginia.

In 1994, one decade after his first bet, Ricciardi partnered with Ricardo Bellucci, who had arrived from Florence, Italy. Their venture, Dolce Vita, offered a place for comfort food from the “old country.” Located in a no-frills building on a main artery in Fairfax, it could easily be overlooked. But those “in the know” frequent Dolce Vita often for rustic fare like osso buco and vitello piccata, and great customer attention.

“One of us was always in the dining room,” Ricciardi says. And although Bellucci is now retired, Ricciardi makes sure that is still true. Ricciardi likes to talk to customers, takes requests and offers those seated at the bar samples of daily specials or a new dish. “Try and see if you like it,” he says. “What do you think?” Ricciardi truly wants the feedback. He is not a chef who feels that because of his culinary expertise the customer should not have a voice. “It’s a matter of taste,” Ricciardi says. “Like wine, one might prefer Cabernet or Merlot. You have to know what your customers like.”

And sometimes dishes need to be modified. “When I first started out in this area, people weren’t familiar with things like pappardelle. Some didn’t like pasta al dente and would send it back. Over the years, customers have become knowledgeable and there is less of a problem. Still, you need to understand regional preferences.”

An Enduring Relationship
Loyal patrons appreciate that they are valued and many have become friends. “I buy them a bottle of champagne for birthday celebrations,” Ricciardi says. He has even assisted in marriage proposals by presenting the ring in a wine glass so that the happy couple can become engaged at Dolce Vita, the place of their first date.

Like the straightforward approach to food (there are no additives used, no heavy sauces), Dolce Vita is not ornate or fussy. It is relaxed, cozy. Large murals depict the Tuscan countryside, Rome’s Spanish Steps and illustrious Italians dining. Customers can join the likes of Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa, Galileo, Caesar and Christopher Columbus. A wood-burning brick oven (6½ feet in diameter) is designed as the face of a patrician Roman; the oven opening is the mouth. Ricciardi uses the Tuscan-style oven for pasta, pizza, bread, suckling pig and more.

The kitchen can produce 300 dinners per day and requires five staff members. Employees seem to be as content as the customers. The average tenure is 12 years, the longest employed for 26 years.

Customer attention has made Dolce Vita an enduring destination and has been cited by Washingtonian’s 100 Very Best Restaurants, Zagat’s list of America’s 1000 Top Italian Restaurants, and received an “excellent” rating in the 2012 Zagat Survey. Despite the recognition, Ricciardi doesn’t like to stay static. “We keep changing,” he says. “You have to keep up with the taste of the times, be willing to try new things.”

A Friendly Neighbor
Today, 18 years after opening Dolce Vita, there are still lines out the door, even in unfavorable weather. The idea for opening a sister establishment next door was born out of Ricciardi’s desire to make his customers comfortable and entertained during the long wait. “I didn’t want the wait to be tortuous,” he says. And so Ricciardi took still another business gamble and opened Dolce Veloce Cicchetti Wine Bar in 2011.

Considered essential to life and well-being, cicchetti (pronounced "chi-KET-tee") is the Venetian custom of enjoying bite-size appetizers and small dishes. “In Venice, cicchetti are one to two bites,” says Ricciardi, “but for Americans we modify and increase the size.” Dolce Veloce’s cicchetti have a modern twist with trendy Pizza Cones (an edible cone filled with four choices including crumbled sausage, pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce), panini, risotto, arancini (fried rice balls), Mediterranean olives, cured meats and Italian cheeses.

Ricciardi, a recently accredited sommelier, also offers a selection of more than 200 boutique wines, which customers can purchase by the bottle or case at retail prices. “I never liked that restaurant wine is marked up so much that customers compromise on the wine they order with dinner,” he says.

In a short time, the new business has enhanced the original. They are companions, providing guests a pleasant place to have a glass of wine and small bite before or after dinner. It has also expanded the client base by attracting a younger crowd seeking a fun, contemporary gathering place. The idea may have been risky, but now implemented, it seems to be well on its way to a sure bet.

Lynn Schwartz, a former New York City restaurateur, is a writer and writing instructor/coach (fiction and nonfiction) based in Maryland. Visit www.writerswordhouse.com.