A touch of Italy: Antonella’s Italian Ristorante owner discusses her inspirations, drive and history that lead her to create her own slice of Sicily in downtown Fayetteville

By Faith Hatton, posted Mar 30, 2023 on BizFayetteville.com

Owner and Head Chef Antonella Scibilia opened her first restaurant at the age of 19, since then she has grown to become a staple of
downtown Fayetteville - Photo provided by GFBJ

The name Antonella may ring a bell for many in the Fayetteville community. Those familiar with downtown Fayetteville may think of the corner restaurant located at 300 Hay St. While the name has become synonymous with yummy Italian cuisine within the community, it is also the name of the restaurant’s Owner and Head Chef, Antonella Scibilia.

A Brooklyn born restaurateur, Scibilia was raised in the industry by immigrant parents Giovanni and Concetta Giannone.

“My dad put us to work at, I think I was nine years old bussing tables, so I feel like I have been working my whole life,” shared Scibilia. She learned firsthand the ins and outs of the restaurant industry from her father who opened his first restaurant in Winston Salem before relocating to Fayetteville in the late 1980s where he opened his second restaurant.

“He opened up a restaurant called Valentino's on Bragg Boulevard, used to be Empire Steakhouse; it seated over 350 people,” recalled Scibilia. “And I guess I just stayed, you know, I moved maybe a couple times throughout my life, but I ended up coming back. It's like a city that just kind of pulls you in, in a way, it's kind of weird.”

Scibilia has come a long way since opening her first restaurant, Roma Pizza, at age 19 in Buies Creek. Her restaurant resume includes opening a second Roma Pizza location on Person Street and opening the Little Italy Pizzeria and Restaurant franchise before shifting gears to an entirely new career.

“I left there [Little Italy] in 2012 and I felt like I wanted to do something different because I've always been in the restaurant business,” said Scibilia. “And you know, I've been doing this my whole life and I was really scared but I thought ‘I want to try something different and just grow.’ So, I went in, and I got my real estate license, and that was a challenge.”

However, it was only a matter of time before she came back to her passion with a little encouragement and an introduction to her future restaurant space.

“I got into real estate, and I think I was in it for about a year, and then my [current] landlord, he owns a lot of properties on this street, he called me one day and he's like, ‘Have you ever thought about opening something just for yourself?’” recalled Scibilia. “And I was like, ‘No, I don't want to do it anymore,’ but he would not take no for an answer. He just kept on and on and I came and looked at the space, there was nothing here, it was just kind of concrete, and I just envisioned it.”

That vision soon came to life and in 2017, Antonella’s Italian Ristorante opened its doors to customers offering an array of Italian dishes and recipes with a Sicilian twist, a personal touch from Scibilia’s own family legacy.

…and filet mignon topped with shrimp scampi over vegetable succotash.

Recipes include featured menu items such as seared halibut caprese…PHOTOS PROVIDED BY: ANTONELLA'S

“Being Sicilian, the recipes are very different, and the recipes have been handed down for many, many years,” shared Scibilia. “We have to make everything fresh literally every day, which is tiring, but it's a good thing, because you are getting fresh quality every time you come and eat. We don't have any of our sauces pre-made except for like our house tomato sauce, which we make daily. So that's another plus because everything is made to order.”

Some of the featured nightly items truly are one of a kind, with Scibilia often custom creating the featured dishes for the day.

“It's funny, because before we open, I don't know what the special is going to be, and then everybody's like, ‘It's five minutes to opening, what's the feature tonight?’ And I'm like, ‘Well, let’s throw this together. What are we going to call it?’ And I start thinking of cities in Italy or Sicily, I might call it Santorini,” said Scibilia. “And it's true, that's how I come up with my feature specials. I'll go back there, and I'll just throw it together in five minutes, and I feel like maybe it’s an art, I guess.”

One of the things Scibilia prides herself in is providing not only delicious, fresh food, but also a memorable dining experience for customers when they come in.

“The decor of the restaurant, I think, was my biggest goal. I think that's very different compared to a lot of restaurants in town. It’s just like, you're not really in Fayetteville, you're somewhere else and that's probably one of the biggest compliments I get all the time, they [customers] love it. You have to see the atmosphere at night. It's very different, you kind of feel like you're in a really big city and that's what I was shooting for,” said Scibilia.

Scibilia shared that she wouldn’t be anywhere without her staff that help her every night, particularly her youngest son Giancarlo who helps with daily operations and lets her know when to take a step back.

Antonella credits her staff and her youngest son Giancarlo (pictured right) for the success of her restaurant, working to
maintain the standard behind her name. Photo provided by GFBJ

“He’s selfless. He got his college degree in business, and he could probably be doing something else that he would probably enjoy more so because I don’t think he wants to follow in the family footsteps. It’s not something that he wants, and I would love to give it to him, but I think he’d rather do something else and, I’m all for it, I support him,” shared Scibilia. “He’s a huge help because without him it would be like, 13-hour days for me, and I wouldn't be able to go home until midnight. And so, a lot of times, it might be nine o'clock, and he's like ‘Mom, go home, I'll close it for you.’ But I don't know how much longer he’s going to want to do it. So as of right now, he's there for me so that's comforting,” shared Scibilia.

Scibilia said that having her name on the building serves as a personal motivator to continue providing food and service she can be proud of.

Antonella's can be found at 300 Hay St, nestled its own corner of Downtown Fayetteville. Photo provided by GFBJ

“It pushes me even more because it's my name up there. I don't think I'm a hard person to work for, I really don't, I just want it done right. Without my customers, I'm not going to be able to open the doors and so it's like you’ve got to give good service, you’ve got to give good quality food,” said Scibilia. “I take a lot of pride in what I do. I’m just blown away because I never ever thought that Antonella’s would be as successful as it is. I thought I would do okay, but my customers are just amazing, and they say such nice things about me. It’s just humbling.”

Scibilia shared that while there are no plans to expand her restaurant beyond its location on Hay St, she and her staff are considering maybe in person or virtual cooking classes as a way of further connecting with the community in the future.

“And here I am, five and a half years and still going strong. I’ve gotten older and more tired at times, but you know, I’m still here.”

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