We meet a lot of bar and restaurant owners.  All of you have different backgrounds and strengths when it comes to running a business.  In our attempt to provide resources to you, we blog about tips on how to market your restaurant and the importance of following a business strategy, but what we can never forget is just how important your passion is when it comes to driving your restaurant’s success.

Rob Coffaro, owner of Coffaro’s Pizza in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, has the certain kind of ardor that it takes to be successful.

“My passion is pizza. When I started my shop, I didn’t have a list of what things I needed to do by when, I just took action.”

Coffaro was a 23-year-old recent college graduate when he was able to open his pizza shop within a few short weeks of planning.  Having grown up watching his parents run a family business, he picked up the HR skills, the public relations know-how, and the bookkeeping side of things quickly.  The store served hand-tossed pizzas, wings, salads, and subs from their original Main Street location for 14 years before Coffaro purchased the local bowling alley and relocated his business in March 2012.  On top of getting a fresh new restaurant design, this relocation opened new opportunities for Coffaro. Now a dad of three beautiful daughters, he’s proud that he can serve the community by offering family-friendly fun by day, while still marketing to the many college-aged students the town’s university brings to the area.  Striving to treat his employees and customers the way he wants to be treated, he stays focused on making the best pizza in town.  Coffaro’s drive, hard work, and commitment all stem from one place: his passion.

Tell us, what are you passionate about that makes your bar or restaurant succeed?