{"id":238,"date":"2007-12-06T15:23:28","date_gmt":"2007-12-06T20:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/carlislehistory\/?page_id=238"},"modified":"2007-12-06T15:23:28","modified_gmt":"2007-12-06T20:23:28","slug":"interview-with-ross-morris-owner-and-founder-of-piatto","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/carlislehistory\/interview-with-ross-morris-owner-and-founder-of-piatto\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Ross Morris, Owner and Founder of Piatto"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Geography of Class<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

Representations: Past and Present<\/font><\/a> | Carlisle\u2019s Future: A Shared Vision<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

Interview with Peter Merisotis<\/font><\/a> | Interview with Ross Morris<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

Links to Various Carlisle Websites<\/font><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/a><\/font><\/p>\n

\"piatto_logo.jpg\"<\/a><\/font><\/p>\n

Interview with Ross Morris<\/font><\/p>\n

Conducted by Edward Manbeck<\/font><\/p>\n

Piatto: Regional Italian Cuisine, Carlisle, Pa<\/font><\/p>\n

November 15, 2007<\/font><\/p>\n

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Preface<\/font><\/p>\n

This interview with Mr. Morris, the owner of Piatto, was conducted for the purpose of exploring the second of the two Italian restaurants located in downtown Carlisle. <\/span>The following oral history transcript is the result of a tape-recorded interview with Mr. Ross Morris on November 15, 2007. <\/span>The interview took place in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was conducted by Edward Manbeck as part of an oral history research project for an American Studies class: \u201cWorkshop in Field Methods.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

Piatto has been a wonderful and unique addition to the downtown Carlisle community. <\/span>What separates Piatto from many other Italian restaurants is the fact that, while it offers some traditional Italian-American entrees, based on Mr. Morris\u2019 travels, he has been able to create a menu that offers real Italian entrees. <\/span>In the following interview, it is evident that Mr. Morris\u2019 exploration into Italian culture has fueled his determination to recreate Italy inside of his Carlisle Restaurant.<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

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Interview<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Alright, so if you could just give me a kind of overview of how you started Piatto and what your mindset was like to open specifically a more upscale Italian restaurant\u2026<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Sure, I\u2019ve been here about ten years – this restaurant will be ten years in May – <\/span>and, I basically wanted to do a restaurant; I looked around at the ideas that I could do, and what was not being represented, and thought Italian would be the way to go. <\/span>One, I just really admire how they eat. <\/span>I mean they eat a very healthful diet. It goes with the seasons, usually it\u2019s locally purchased produce and food items, and we do that whenever we can. <\/span>So those were all the attractions for me, and what we tried to do when we set out, what we wanted to do was just like Italy, and we\u2019ve managed to pull it off to a large extent as time goes on. <\/span>But, yes, before that I had a business, it was actually the first coffee shop in Carlisle. We did an espresso bar\/caf\u00e9 right beside the theater where Matty\u2019s Kitchen is now located. <\/span>So we were like the first espresso machine in Carlisle. For years, we had the only one, but now everybody\u2019s in that game. <\/span>But that\u2019s where it all started.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: You\u2019ve seen that Starbucks is coming to town?<\/font><\/p>\n

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Mr. Morris: I did see that. <\/span>Ah, mixed blessings, like I think, certainly your generation grew up with Starbucks, that\u2019s pretty much all you know in the coffee world. <\/span>Personally, what I think they\u2019re selling is milk with burnt coffee flavor added. <\/span>I have yet to find any of their products that I like. <\/span>It\u2019s all over roasted coffee in my opinion, like espresso\u2019s about as dark as I like to go, French roast is fine if your in France and they’re making caf\u00e9 L.A., it tastes great, believe me, but what Starbucks is doing is way off course. But I admire the culture that they\u2019ve developed, and they certainly have a good business model. <\/span>It\u2019s one of the last good places to work in America, where you can actually go and get benefits. <\/span>So there are parts of it that I like. <\/span>I hope that Casa Mani and the Courthouse Commons can weather the addition.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Well Starbucks is going pretty close to them, right?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: It\u2019s right in the middle. <\/span>I think they\u2019ll [Casa Mani and Courthouse Commons] do okay. <\/span>I\u2019m a big believer in independence<\/strong> and I think they\u2019re both strong enough. I think they have strong enough concepts in that enough people will support it, and at the same time, we might even get new people coming into the Starbucks, and then they\u2019ll maybe branch out and maybe use all three, who knows. <\/span>It\u2019s going to be interesting.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I know one of the big things with the downtown is kind of how to merge the Dickinson community and the downtown. <\/span>Like you said, there are a lot of mixed feelings about Starbucks coming but that may be one of the ways that that happens.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: That\u2019ll get you guys [Dickinson students] right down High Street. <\/span>Yes, that\u2019s true, that\u2019s very true. <\/span>And I think even in terms of retailing, that should be the next big step, is to get some good retailing going on where everybody\u2019s interested again. <\/span>When I came to the town, the downtown was pretty vibrant. It had a lot of stores, a lot of old school stores, but man, there were like people all over the place, all over the streets of Carlisle.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: When did you come to Carlisle?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Like thirty years ago, \u201977, right out of college.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Alright, so you feel as though you\u2019ve found a niche here? You know, if you look at downtown, a lot of the stores have their own niche, and that\u2019s how they make it in competing against the big stores.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: True. You know, you figure that Wal-Mart and all those guys have big-boxed America to death, which basically put all the Mom and Pops out of business. <\/span>So now the only way to do it is to come in and do something that those guys won\u2019t touch, like my neighbors.<\/strong> <\/span>I\u2019ve got two of the best neighbors in terms of retail. <\/span>They just have unique products that you\u2019ll never see anywhere else, and that\u2019s pretty much how you have to go, and even in a downtown, I think that\u2019s the key. <\/span>If you can come up with an idea, you know the Clothes Vine? I like going in, that\u2019s a great store, it has a good feel, it\u2019s got great products, and they\u2019re doing it. <\/span>I mean they\u2019re working. <\/span>So that\u2019s the key. You have to find stuff that\u2019s going to make the downtown come alive, and it\u2019s there, it\u2019s happening; it never goes as fast as you want, but it\u2019s about ready to turn a big corner, I think.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Where do you see it headed?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Well, I think North Hanover is definitely the next neighborhood that\u2019s going to pop.<\/strong> <\/span>I think the opening of The Good Life Caf\u00e9 and the shifting around of restaurants up there. <\/span>The restaurants in Carlisle are always in evolution, I\u2019ve seen so many come and go just in the time that I\u2019ve been here, and I suppose that\u2019s a good thing, but it keeps everybody on their toes. <\/span>Where do I think it\u2019s going? I really think this \u201cHigh-I\u201d project has potential to deliver on that promise of one day we\u2019re going to make this downtown appealing. <\/span>See the trick is to get people in. <\/span>You already have the captive audience of Carlisle people and the college, you\u2019ve got to make it a whole lot more exciting for you guys [Dickinson], because what reasons other than G-Man and maybe Market Cross?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Right, it seems like everything is basically closed after six or seven o\u2019clock.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: My daughter goes to school in Doylestown (Pa), up in Bucks County, north of Philly, and it\u2019s just this funky little town. <\/span>It\u2019s like man, why isn\u2019t Carlisle more like this? <\/span>You go out at nine o\u2019clock, come out of a restaurant, and all the stores are open. There\u2019s a lot of music going on everywhere, and it\u2019s like man, this is it. <\/span>So, I think Carlisle is heading in that direction, but it\u2019s just a question of how much time is it going to take.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: But you see Carlisle becoming more representative of an atmosphere like Doylestown?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, it\u2019s heading there now. <\/span>I\u2019ve been here long enough to watch the whole thing up and down. <\/span>When you hit bottom, it\u2019s like there\u2019s nowhere to go but up.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Now have there been any restaurants like this [Piatto], like a nicer Italian restaurant in town?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Not Italian, no. <\/span>You were saying yesterday, I think your original idea was the Italian restaurant history in this town. <\/span>As far as I know, the Rillos were the first family to come in and do that, and I think that was in the early sixties when they started. [ed\u2019s note: Rillo\u2019s is in Carlisle however it is not within the downtown area] And I think they [Rillo\u2019s] were the first and the only to do Italian in this town but I\u2019m not sure of that. You might want to check with the Historic Society on Pitt Street. They might be able to help you out with some details. <\/span>It\u2019s easier to trace the Greek stuff that\u2019s happened in this town.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Like the Hamilton, Back Door, etc\u2026<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, because they all came from one place. <\/span>I don\u2019t know if you know who Bill Castopolis (spelling) is, but he\u2019s a pretty famous attorney in the area, and his family, it now has the North Hanover Grille, I can\u2019t remember the name of the place. <\/span>Anyhow, they sold hot dogs and you can trust every Greek restaurateur in Carlisle came through that place back in the day. <\/span>So there\u2019s a lot of Greeks doing that. <\/span>But Italians, actually the only Italian-American [food] you could find in America until fairly recently was straight up Italian-American. <\/span>You know, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, they don\u2019t serve that in Italy, you won\u2019t find it. <\/span>Last time I was at Rillo\u2019s was a couple weeks ago, and I looked at the menu, and there\u2019s not a single item on the menu that you could find in Italy. <\/span>But I like Italian-American food, it\u2019s good, it\u2019s different. <\/span>So that\u2019s what they [Rillo\u2019s] did. <\/span>They made a name for themselves doing that. <\/span>And actually, even when I came here thirty years ago, you had very little choices in restaurants. <\/span>You had broiled seafood and steaks, and Rillo\u2019s was doing this American Italian thing, and other than that, that was it. <\/span>California Caf\u00e9 was the first one that did anything different in this town. <\/span>That was about, I guess about twenty years ago that Oliver opened up and he just threw something completely different in Carlisle, and I was like, \u201cwow, this is cool.\u201d <\/span>And from there, everybody just started doing some different things. <\/a><\/a><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Speaking of California Caf\u00e9, would you speak a little bit about what\u2019s going on here on Pomfret Street, because it seems as though it\u2019s got its own little niche.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yep, it does, it\u2019s cool. <\/span>My neighbor, Pat Craig, is largely responsible for that. <\/span>She\u2019s the mistress of promotion. She knows how to get attention from anybody anywhere, and you should talk to her if you have time and you want to stretch this out a bit, but she\u2019s a character. <\/span>And, yes, she\u2019s responsible for getting this whole block organized, and we actually have a non-profit group where we actually pool money and energy, and we advertise and market ourselves. <\/span>I think North Hanover is doing something like it, too. <\/span>Eventually, we\u2019ll all sit down and get it together and say let\u2019s do this for the whole town, but you\u2019ve got to start tomorrow.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Do you think that the vision of all the business owners in town is pretty similar? <\/span>As far as in the direction they want to go?<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, everybody wants to go in the same direction, and the people that are here, the players that are here now are all in a very cooperative mode. <\/span>Like even my competitors, I know them all, and we like each other and we\u2019ll send each other business. <\/span>Nobody bad mouths anybody in town; its pretty cool, it\u2019s actually like we\u2019re all friendly competitors.<\/strong> <\/span>You know, I love having the caf\u00e9 down the street because we\u2019re a small restaurant, we fill up, and you have to send them [patrons somewhere]. <\/span>I don\u2019t want to send them to a chain. <\/span>That\u2019s what\u2019s really changed in the restaurant industry in America, in the last, I think it happened two summers ago, the chains took market share for the first time in the history of America. <\/span>So, there are actually more people dining at chains than there are at independents. <\/span>And they\u2019re not serving real food. <\/span>I have trouble eating at chains; I don\u2019t feel well when I eat there. <\/span>I haven\u2019t had processed food in probably about twenty years, and any time I do, I just don\u2019t feel right for a couple of days. <\/span>So, I\u2019m not sure what they\u2019re serving, but it\u2019s not something they\u2019re cooking. [Laughs]<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: How would you say, granted there\u2019s not a restaurant like this right in this area, but how would you say the Applebee\u2019s area and the Target shopping center, basically all the chains in the area, have affected the downtown area in general, not just Piatto, if at all?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: My take on it is this. <\/span>Twenty-five years ago Wal-Mart was talking about coming to Carlisle, so a group of concerned citizens got together and said no, we don\u2019t want this, and they fought it.<\/font><\/p>\n

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Mr. Manbeck: This was twenty-five years ago, really?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, and they fought it, and they actually kept them out. <\/span>And I think they shot themselves in the foot because they [Wal-Mart] opened up in Mechanicsburg and everyone in Carlisle went to Mechanicsburg to shop at Wal-Mart, so all of the other money that they would have spent got spent in that area. <\/span>Whereas, if they were smart, what they would have said was sure, put yourselves out here. <\/span>But what I think is going to happen, I think in five years you\u2019ll have Carlisle, which will be surrounded by these big box retailers, which is where America is, and it\u2019s a fact of life, you need them, but in the end we\u2019re going to have this funky little downtown that\u2019s full of vibrant little shops that nobody else has. <\/span>So we\u2019re going to be surrounded by these big boxes and they are actually going to drive traffic in a way that no other small town could get traffic, that\u2019s my theory, that\u2019s what I would like to see. <\/span>I think it\u2019s heading there because already you can see there are people coming to Carlisle that might not have come before to shop at these stores and they either drive through the downtown, or by it, or they become aware of it, and the more we have to offer them, the more likely they might be to stop.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Before the interview we were talking about the car show and how they offer these shuttles that now mostly take the people from the fairgrounds to the Wal-Mart shopping center, essentially bypassing the downtown. <\/span>As an example, I know that Matty from Matty\u2019s Kitchen said that he doesn\u2019t see any increase in business when the car show is in town. <\/span>Now maybe his situation is a bit unique considering he\u2019s normally only open for lunch, but what are your thoughts on the impact of the car show?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: They\u2019ve tried over the years, they\u2019ve tried doing some downtown, but honestly, what is there downtown to offer these people to do? <\/span>And, there\u2019s a couple stores, but it\u2019s not like taking them to one of the malls where they\u2019ve got hours to kill. <\/span>Car shows used to be really bad in that either the locals would either leave town or stay home because they knew the town was flooded with a couple hundred thousand people and it would actually put business down. <\/span>It\u2019s actually gotten better over the years. <\/span>They\u2019ve learned to manage the traffic really well and we benefit mostly from the specialty, like the niche shows, like the corvette show and the ones where people obviously have money to blow, not like the Chrysler show or the big ones where it\u2019s just a big junkyard out there. <\/span>Have you ever been to a car show?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: A few small ones with my Dad, but nothing like the ones out here.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: [laughs] They\u2019re pretty cool. <\/span>You should check it out sometime. <\/span>There\u2019s nothing like it anywhere in America like them probably. <\/span>But again, I think you have to give people a reason to want to come downtown. <\/span>I don\u2019t know how much you\u2019re aware of the D.I.D. thing, the Downtown Investment District, that\u2019s being floated before borough council. <\/span>They\u2019re talking about raising money to actually promote the downtown. <\/span>It\u2019s going to mean everybody chipping in, but towns like West Chester and State College have done it, Frederick, Maryland, and they\u2019ve all done it very successfully, but it\u2019s a matter of stepping up to the plate and coughing up the money.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Now is that just money from business owners?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: And residential. <\/span>It all depends, it\u2019s based on location. <\/span>If you\u2019re like a landlord downtown and you have properties downtown, you\u2019re going to have to kick in some extra money, but that\u2019s going to be interesting to see. <\/span>What year are you?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: A senior.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Okay, you won\u2019t see it. [laughs] But it\u2019ll happen sometime in the next two years.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I\u2019ll be back for alumni weekend.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: There you go. <\/span>You might see it, and actually, yes, if you come back a year at a time you\u2019ll probably see the downtown grow in bits and pieces here and there.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Right now Subway is really the only chain in the downtown, do you think that Starbucks coming to the downtown will lure more chains?<\/font><\/p>\n

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Mr. Morris: Most chains won\u2019t touch a downtown. <\/span>It\u2019s a good question, I haven\u2019t seen much of it. <\/span>Usually downtowns are left to the independents, a lot of time there just isn\u2019t enough space for a chain to come downtown. <\/span>Although as the economy shrinks, they\u2019ll build smaller footprint stores. <\/span>That might happen. <\/span>I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen next year. <\/span>The economy is getting really weird and everything could shake out. <\/span>Like you mentioned Applebee\u2019s, that segment is really hurting right now; they\u2019re having one of their worst years. <\/span>That whole market segment, I think they\u2019ve crowded themselves out a good bit. <\/span>Their clientele is right in that middle ground, and as soon as the economy goes south, they trade down; they\u2019ll actually go to a quick serve [fast food restaurant] as opposed to staying at an Applebee\u2019s [slightly more expensive compared to fast food]. <\/span>So, it\u2019ll be interesting to watch. <\/span>There\u2019s a whole lot that\u2019s going to shake out next year. <\/span>Hope I\u2019m still here to talk about it. [laughs]<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Alright, say a new business is going to start up in downtown Carlisle, how conscious would you say they are of catering not only to the Carlisle community and the surrounding area, but also the Dickinson community, basically catering to both demographics?<\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Well if they\u2019re smart, they will definitely be aware. <\/span>Because the thing that makes this town work is all of those groups you just described. <\/span>You couldn\u2019t do it without the college, the war college, without the law school. <\/span>That\u2019s part of what makes it demographically interesting, and yes, you have to appeal, you don\u2019t want to alienate any of those guys.<\/strong> <\/span>It\u2019s like being a politician, everybody\u2019s like, well, put up the political signs. <\/span>But for why, do you want me to piss off the other guy? <\/span>You know, the other half of people who don\u2019t agree with that guy. <\/span>No way.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Alright I don\u2019t want to take too much more of your time, but do you have any final thoughts on the downtown and the direction you see it heading?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Well it\u2019s definitely on the way up, and now it\u2019s just a question of how many people are going to get on board. <\/span>Because it\u2019s going to take a lot of ground roots effort to make this whole thing fly. <\/span>It\u2019s going to take a lot of work, but it\u2019s headed there, we\u2019re getting there. <\/span>How about you? What\u2019s next for you?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: What\u2019s next for me? <\/span>Well I\u2019m really not sure yet. <\/span>I\u2019m looking into spending a year in London which could be a great experience.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Okay, that\u2019s a cool town.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Yeah. [laughs] You ever been there?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, I was there this summer. <\/span>I just stopped over; I was there for forty-eight hours. <\/span>I swear to God I did everything there was to do in London in forty-eight hours. <\/span>I was coming off of a trip from Italy and just had a layover, and I just thought, you know, I had no expectations, but man, London blew me away. <\/span>That was surprising, that might be the best city on the planet.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: So expensive though.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: It is, what is it, like two to one now? Well more than that.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I think its forty-two cents to the pound.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: That\u2019s bad; it was fifty cents when I was there.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I was over there about two and a half years ago; the basketball team took a trip to Ireland, Wales, and England. <\/span>We did London for two days and did the boat tour, Buckingham Palace, etc., did the whole deal.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Where did you stay in London?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I really can\u2019t remember.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: You weren\u2019t at the Erring (spelling) House were you?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: No.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: There\u2019s a Dickinson connection because Dickinson does that summer program over there and I just happened to run into a bunch of those people, so that was pretty wild.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: That\u2019s pretty neat. <\/span>I\u2019m thinking of applying to a program that offers a twelve month internship with a number of the big world banks. <\/span>They provide housing and everything, so it\u2019s pretty cool.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Man, all banking is going to be world banking before long. <\/span>They\u2019ll have to be.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: So just one more final thought. <\/span>You see Piatto doing well for a long time here?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: I do, if you look at my history, I\u2019ve been at this nineteen years, and my graph looks like this [shows a gradual incline], it\u2019s just a nice steady incline. <\/span>You know, a lot of restaurants do this thing [shows a jagged graph with highs and lows], and I haven\u2019t done any of that. <\/span>It\u2019s just nice steady growth, very controlled. <\/span>It\u2019s good being small. <\/span>I can control a lot of details that a lot of big places can\u2019t. <\/span>Hey, it\u2019s been a good ride, and I\u2019m a young guy, I\u2019m only fifty-something, so I\u2019ll be doing this at least another twenty years. <\/span>I mean, I can\u2019t imagine stopping.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Have you been pleased with how you\u2019ve done here [Piatto]? <\/span>Because this is certainly different than a coffee house, so was this a challenge for you, to go from a coffeehouse to an upscale Italian Restaurant?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yes, this was the hardest thing I\u2019ve ever done, just because, well it goes like this. <\/span>It\u2019s the simplest cuisine I\u2019ve ever done, but it\u2019s the hardest because there are only two things you\u2019re working with. <\/span>Your working with the ingredient and the technique, and you can\u2019t falter on either one; they both have to be flawless. <\/span>So you have to buy the best stuff you can find and you have to know exactly how to prepare it. <\/span>So the people that cook here actually have a lot of experience and know what they\u2019re doing, you have to. <\/span>Unlike a chain where you throw it into the fire or the microwave and say, \u201chey look what I made.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: I usually get the lobster ravioli when I\u2019m here.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Oh that stuff is great isn\u2019t it.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: How would you describe your clientele?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: All over the board. <\/span>The people that seem to appreciate us most are people like yourself that have traveled the world, people that know the difference between mediocre and good food.<\/strong> <\/span>And Italians are incredibly impressed with this. <\/span>I never understood this, like Italians come to Carlisle and they bring them here, and it\u2019s like man, if I was in Italy, I\u2019d be wanting to eat Italian food, not American food. <\/span>And they say, you don\u2019t understand. <\/span>The person I traveled with this summer finally made me see what it is. <\/span>They know they have the best food. <\/span>It\u2019s not an egotistical thing, either; they just know that their food is that good. <\/span>So when they go anywhere, they want to eat their food. <\/span>It\u2019s really strange because in Italy you don\u2019t see foreign restaurants, there\u2019s not American restaurants or Chinese restaurants. <\/span>It\u2019s pretty hard to find anything other than Italian food. <\/span>There\u2019s basically Italian food and tourist food and that\u2019s the difference. <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: You\u2019ve been there recently?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: I was over there for two weeks this summer and it was absolutely wonderful. <\/span>They\u2019re eating very, very well. <\/span>The markets are amazing. <\/span>About half the time I would taste dishes I had never tasted before I made here and I would just be like, yes, I nailed that, that\u2019s good. <\/span>And then the other times I would be like, okay, I need to change this, this, and this and I\u2019ve got it.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: So you\u2019ve brought Italy firsthand back to Carlisle<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Oh yes, yes, the food\u2019s never been better, than it is right now at this restaurant. (laughs)<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: So it\u2019s only going to get better?<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Morris: Yep, it\u2019s only going to get better, so I figure I\u2019ve got a few more trips to go and we\u2019ll have it down.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mr. Manbeck: Alright, well this has been great, thank you very much for your time and insight and I wish you the best.<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Links<\/p>\n

Casa Mani<\/a><\/p>\n

Courthouse Commons<\/a><\/p>\n

California Cafe<\/a><\/p>\n

The Clothes Vine<\/a><\/p>\n

Carlisle Car Shows<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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