ABOUT US
ABOUT US
IF IT AIN'T VINNY'S
FO'GET ABOUT IT!
Owner Chris Vitiello opened the original 'Cousin Vinny’s Restaurant & Bar' at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre on December 2, 2009 with his business partner and friend, Tylor. In 2010, they received the Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award and in 2011 they earned the Bell Business Excellence Top 40 Under 40 Award. Since then, Cousin Vinny's has become a household name in Valley East and throughout Greater Sudbury as a family restaurant during the day and as one of the leading entertainment venues on weekends.
In January 2015, Chris became the sole owner of Cousin Vinny’s, while Tylor went on to pursue his passions in other areas, but the two still remain best friends. With a thriving business and a growing family that has seen his own son playing minor hockey, Chris is even more committed to doing what he can to help build the community spirit and give his support to other organizations in the area.
In May 2017, Chris expanded into Chelmsford, opening the second location of Cousin Vinny’s Restaurant & Bar in the Place Bonaventure Mall. The former '2 Thumbs Up' was completely renovated from the floor to the ceiling, bringing a brand new facility that was an instant hit with residents of all ages in the Rayside Balfour area. The new Chelmsford restaurant is a “mirror image” of the Hanmer location, says Chris: “It is exactly like being in the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre. Everyone I meet is so welcoming and they are all saying how happy they are to know that I am opening another Cousin Vinny’s in their mall.”
Both locations of Cousin Vinny’s Restaurant & Bar offers the same menu selection and catering service. Both Hanmer and Chelmsford locations also offer a wide variety of top entertainment, including fundraisers for local charities that have been sold out weekend after weekend.
Chris was again nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year in May 2018 and was inducted into the Valley East Sports Hall of Fame in June 2018. No matter how successful Chris becomes (the ultimate goal is for Cousin Vinny's to be a franchise chain!), or where the future takes him, Chris will be forever indebted to his father. “My Dad’s name on his birth certificate is Vincenzo. So I wanted to name the restaurant Cousin Vinny’s in honour of him. It’s a very proud and distinguished name that we could build into a franchise and it will be a constant reminder of how if it wasn’t for his support, and the encouragement of my family and friends, I would not be where I am today.”
As Chris always says, “If It Ain’t Vinny’s…..Forget About It!”
ABOUT THE OWNER
Chris Vitiello, 36, was the first born child of Patricia and Enzo. They moved to Valley East when Chris was about six years old. He and his younger brother and sister were raised in this community that he now calls home and where he and his lovely wife, Jennifer are raising their own three children.
Chris was always competitive by nature. He started playing hockey and soccer at the age of 6, and even now continues to play those sports as an adult. After completing elementary school at Immaculate Conception School in Val Caron, he decided to attend St. Charles College, mainly because of the opportunity to play sports at a higher level and to meet other people his age from all around the entire region. He has always enjoyed making new friends and acquaintances, a character trait that has served him well over the years.
After he graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree Cum Laude from Laurentian University, his passion for sales helped him achieve national recognition with Leon’s Furniture as one of the top ten sales persons in the entire country for each of the three years he was with the company. But something was missing, and despite his success with Leon’s, Chris felt that he needed more of a challenge.
When Tylor McNair, a friend he met while at Laurentian approached him with the suggestion that the two of them open up a restaurant at the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre, while this interested Chris, he wasn’t sure if that was the kind of challenge he was looking for. After all, he was making good money with Leon’s and at the age of 26, getting into the restaurant business was a risky endeavour.
“As we did our research into the venture, everyone kept telling us that there was no way a couple of 26 year olds could operate a successful restaurant,” Chris explained. “I think that made me even more determined to prove them wrong. So when my father gave me his blessing and support, and when the owner of the mall, Val Mazzuca decided to offer the opportunity to Tylor and I, we took on the challenge and I’ve never regretted the decision for a single minute.”
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
Despite his resounding success, the entrepreneurial spirit still burns strong as ever inside Chris. While he has been nurturing the growth of both locations of Cousin Vinny’s as a Restaurant & Bar, he has been expanding the scope of the enterprise to include fundraising, catering, a new delivery service, school programs, and wedding planning. In addition, Chris has never lost his passion for sales and has begun to build up a real estate portfolio as a landlord with two four-plex apartment complexes and more to come.
He is especially proud of how in the past nine years he and his team of volunteers has built Valley East Days into the largest family festival of its kind, with attendance totals of over 35,000 this past September. He has welcomed the role he has taken on as a true community builder and feels this is an important mission of Cousin Vinny’s.
Testimonials
HANMER LOCATION
CHELMSFORD LOCATION