09/11/2026
I get asked a lot:
“Why Hattiesburg? How did you end up here?”
Well… here’s the story.
Back in 2018, I was living in New York with my wife and our two little kids. I was working close to 90 hours a week, trying to provide for my family, and somehow it still felt like we were barely getting by.
I was exhausted. I was working all those hours, missing time with my family, and still feeling like I wasn't getting ahead.
Then came a phone call that changed the direction of my life.
It was October 1, 2018.
I was on my lunch break when I called my father, who had a restaurant in Long Beach, Mississippi. I told him how tough things had gotten in New York and how tired I was of living that way.
He listened to me and simply said:
“Why don't you move down here? It's not New York. Life is simpler here. It's slower.”
It probably sounded like a simple suggestion to him at the time, but those words stayed with me.
My father saw that I was struggling and gave me something I really needed at that moment—another option. A chance to start over.
He didn't promise me that everything would be easy or that everything would work out. He simply opened a door for me and gave me the confidence to walk through it.
That night, I went home and talked to my wife. Moving from New York to Mississippi with two little kids was a huge decision, but we knew something needed to change.
So we took a chance.
Exactly one week later, on October 8, 2018, we packed up our lives, left New York, and headed to Mississippi.
I'll never forget those first few nights in Long Beach.
No fire trucks. No ambulances. No horns honking. No neighbors fighting at 3 in the morning. 😂
It was actually so quiet that I had trouble falling asleep.
I started working at the restaurant with my brother Mario and the rest of the family.
Not long after, Mario asked me to ride with him to Texas to pick up some things for a restaurant the family had purchased. On the way, we passed through Hattiesburg.
We started looking around and talking.
Good-sized city. USM was here. Plenty of traffic. And most importantly, it felt like there was opportunity.
Then came the question:
“What if we opened one here?”
That simple question changed everything again.
We started making phone calls and looking at buildings.
And just so everyone understands where I was financially at the time—I was BROKE. 😂
There were no investors and no pile of money sitting in the bank. Whatever little I had, I was willing to put into this and give it everything I had.
We looked at several places, but they were way too expensive.
Finally, the agent said, “I have one more. It might not be exactly what you're looking for, but it might be what you can afford.”
We went to see it.
It was small. Cozy. Nothing fancy.
But it felt right.
We didn't hesitate.
Then we had to figure out what to call it.
Al's?
Yeah… that didn't sound so good. 😂
Mario's sounded a whole lot better.
We still flipped a coin over it—and Mario won anyway. 😂
So Mario's Italian Restaurant it was.
By the time we were getting ready to open, we had basically run out of money. There wasn't a budget for advertising or some big grand-opening campaign.
So I did what I could do for free.
I created a Facebook account called Mario's Hattiesburg started adding people from Hattiesburg, and posted pictures of the dishes we were getting ready to serve.
Then people started asking:
“Where are y'all located?”
“When are you opening?”
“When can we come eat?”
And I started thinking… maybe this thing might actually work. 😂
Then came January 21, 2019.
Opening day.
It was Mario, me, and five employees.
Seven people trying to make this little Italian restaurant work.
And people showed up.
Then more people showed up.
Before long, we had people standing outside waiting for us to open the doors.
That's something I'll never forget.
Because when you've put everything you have into something, and then you look outside and see people waiting to give you a chance…
you don't forget that feeling.
Today, that little restaurant has grown into a place where around 40–45 people work and help provide for their families.
And that's probably one of the things I'm most proud of.
Mario's has become more than a restaurant to us.
We've watched employees grow up, graduate, get married, and start families. We've watched customers celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, first dates, and countless family dinners inside these walls.
So when people ask me:
“Why Hattiesburg?”
Sure, I can talk about the population, the university, the location, or the opportunity.
But after all these years, my real answer is:
The people.
Hattiesburg welcomed us.
You supported us when we were just getting started. You told your friends about us. You brought your families here. Some of you have been with us since the very beginning, and some of you walk through the door today and we already know what you're going to order. 😂
Somewhere along the way, I stopped feeling like the guy from New York who moved to Mississippi.
Hattiesburg became home.
And I know none of this happened because of me alone.
My father was the first person who opened that door for me. When I called him tired, frustrated, and unsure of what to do next, he didn't just tell me things would get better. He gave me a place to come, an opportunity to work, and the push I needed to change my life.
Looking back, I don't know where I would be today if I hadn't made that phone call—or if my father hadn't said, “Come down here.”
Dad, thank you for believing that there could be something better for me and my family, even when I couldn't see it yet. Everything that came afterward started with that phone call.
My wife believed in me enough to pack up our lives, take our two little kids, leave everything familiar behind, and start over with me.
And my brother Mario has helped me more than I could ever put into a Facebook post. He believed in me, stood beside me, and played a huge part in helping me become who I am today.
Mario isn't just the name on our building. He's my brother, and a big part of the reason I'm where I am today.
And to Hattiesburg…
From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Thank you for your kindness, your encouragement, your loyalty, and your support throughout all these years.
On October 1, 2018, I was sitting on a lunch break in New York wondering how much longer I could keep living that way.
On October 8, my family and I left New York to start over.
A little over three months later, on January 21, 2019, we opened the doors to Mario's.
And here we are today.
I came to Mississippi looking for a simpler life.
I came to Hattiesburg because we saw an opportunity.
But I stayed because I found a home.
You didn't just support our restaurant.
You gave us a chance to build a life here.
And for that, my family and I will always be grateful.
We may have built Mario's, but Hattiesburg helped build us. ❤️
Thank you for being part of our story.
— Al
