Alan Meinster poses inside Rossi’s Bar and Grill on August 19, 2015. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Alan Meinster has been in the restaurant business a long time, so the man behind Marsilio’s Kitchen and more recently Rossi’s knows how true the industry’s motto is: “You’re only as good as your last meal.”
“People will say, ‘I went to Rossi’s last Thursday and it was—’ and they’ll fill in the blank,” he said.
If the parking lots at both restaurants every evening around dinnertime are any indication, customers are filling in those blanks with lots of praise.
Meinster currently owns Marsilio’s, where he has worked since 1986. He moved the restaurant to Ewing in 2011 after closing Marsilio’s longtime Chambersburg location in 2007 and operating solely as a catering service. Meinster enjoyed the challenge of catering but missed what the restaurant was able to offer to its customers as a sit-down establishment. The responsibility is “immense,” he said, but he and his staff take is seriously.
“Restaurants like Marsilio’s that have been in people’s lives since 1951, they just don’t exist anymore,” he said. “Things change. New brands come in. But places like these, where they had their first dates, their bachelor dinners, their bridal showers, these are life events that took place. Those life events become who we are. We take for granted the importance of a restaurant and its place in our lives.”
The location was something he thought a lot about and eventually decided on Ewing, citing its proximity to Trenton—for “the legislative crowd”—and areas like Yardley just across the bridge in Pennsylvania, where lots of former Trentonians have moved to over the years.
Meinster also partnered with Rossi’s owner Mike Rossi to bring another Chambersburg staple to the suburbs in July of last year. The restaurant, famous for its burgers, is consistently packed, due in part to Hamilton’s proximity to Trenton, he said.
More parking, a larger dining area and state-of-the-art kitchen equipment have all helped make the transition smooth enough that the pair are considering opening a second Rossi’s location.
“I had an opportunity with a like-minded friend in Mike Rossi to relocate Rossi’s after 80 years in the same location,” he said. “It’s seen the Prohibition, different economies, World Wars. But it’s always been the same family holding onto this style of hospitality. It was time to just move it to where the people were…Things really couldn’t be much better. It’s been very rewarding emotionally and financially.”
Rossi’s took the place of Charlie Brown’s on Whitehorse-Mercerville Road, and Meinster said they were able to keep all of the Charlie Brown’s employees on staff.
Working with Rossi, he added, has been as smooth as possible.
“It’s very emotional,” Meinster said. “Mike Rossi, you couldn’t ask for a better partner. He’s one of the classiest guys I’ve ever met. There’s a reason Rossi’s has been able to stay vibrant for decades and decades.”
Both Rossi’s and Marsilio’s have thrived over a combined cenutry-plus of serving food, despite the competition from national chains that constantly crop up.
The restaurant business is constantly evolving, Meinster said. Corporate entities are able to change the face of their brands whenever they want, but for smaller businesses, it’s not an option.
“When you’re an independent, you don’t quite have that ability all the time, so you really rely on the loyalty of your customer base,” he said. “You can’t take anyone for granted ever.”
To keep customers coming back, Meinster and his teams stay up-to-date on decor, adapting to new food trends and changing wine and beer lists consistently.
But he also acknowledges that it’s key to keep an eye on what the chains are doing right and to then replicate that in a smaller atmosphere.
“It’s important for independent restaurants to learn from what the big guys are doing and doing well and help the customer be able to enjoy those things in your establishment,” he said. “They don’t get to be as big as they are unless they make lots of people happy.”
Still, Meinster added, there are certain things that only small establishments can provide to their customers.
“Everyone wants to support a local venue,” he said. “We know your name. We know that you appreciate us. You know that we appreciate you. You can’t get a relationship in a national restaurant because the manager and staff are changing. The waiter who works at a restaurant for 20 years, they know if you like fresh pepper on your salad, if you like sriracha sauce with your burger. They’re going to deliver.”
It’s that attitude that has helped both restaurants maintain the reputations at Trenton favorites after moving. Meinster said the importance of keeping the restaurants in good standing with customers was definitely in his mind during the moves. They have expectations, and fulfilling them is key to keeping them around.
The Rossiburger makes up half of all of Rossi’s sales, while chicken cacciatore and veal Parmesan are the top sellers at Marsilio’s. But often, it’s about more than just the food, especially for customers who have been around for awhile.
“People want that same burger, the same flavor that they tasted maybe waiting for a baby to be delivered at Saint Francis Hospital in the ’60s,” he said. “That’s what they remember in 2015. The taste reminds them of a moment in their lives, and they want to go back to the moment on certain occasions. That’s what it meant to have landmark restaurants. We take it very seriously.”
Outside of the restaurants, Meinster keeps busy with his wife, Denise—who is “instrumental” behind the scenes for both establishments—and daughters Julia and Grace. Grace, he said, hopes to follow in his footsteps in the hospitality field, and Meinster couldn’t be more pleased.
“She said she wants to be just like her father,” he said. “She enjoys hospitality to the point that she knows she’s signing up for an 80-hour work week, seven days a week, and she still seems very motivated. It’s exciting to think that there will be a next generation.”
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