Servers at Terroni won’t sprinkle cheese on your Spaghetti Canna a Mare (with Seafood), and that’s a good thing.
Stances like this one, and others (no cutting pizza, no butter on bread) stir up a lot of controversy. But Terroni takes a position on their brand, and they fervently protect it.
Copyblogger writer Brian Clark believes you must have courage to be a leader:
You need the courage to alienate the wrong people in order to resonate with the right people. You need to stick to your convictions when people tell you you’re wrong simply because your knowledge doesn’t mesh with their opinions.
The idea of “protecting your brand” may conjure up images of people sitting around board rooms discussing the minutia of whether a particular shade of red is consistent with the brand “identity”. This is not what I’m talking about. And this is not what I imagine Terroni does.
Brands that stand for something, like Terroni, operate from a gut level. Terroni’s mission in life is to use, make and share authentic Southern Italian food. Authenticity is baked into everything they do. Just like you know which clothing styles suit you and which don’t, good brands just know what ‘fits’ with who they are and what they believe in.
So, when a relative of Terroni’s owner came back from Italy with a brightly patterned, highly textured bag made by Italian women inmates , they got in touch and started carrying Made In Carcere (Made in Prison) bags printed with the Terroni moniker. The bags and accessories are proudly displayed at Terroni restaurants right alongside the olive oil and tomato sauce.
The bags are recycled so they simultaneously give a “second chance” to the fabric they’re made from and the women who manufacture them. The accessories all come from scraps left behind by high end Italian fashion houses such as Costume National.
Terroni’s co-owner Vince describes the look as “very Italian” which for him probably means “Southern Italian.” The South has the Mediterranean sea where one can imagine the perfect beach-side setting for a lovely yellow and white polka dot bag. It just fits with olives, capers, anchovies and all of the affordable, fabulous ingredients that define Southern Italian cooking.
If I’m waxing a bit poetic it’s because that’s the effect that Terroni’s simple, Southern Italian Food has on me.
In fact, it’s not just Terroni’s food. I’m always happy to eat at Terroni, and I can’t say that about many places (especially not ‘chains’)
Besides the food, I often look longingly at all the products that line their shelves. Their hot peppers in oil kick some ass. As a product extention, the In Carcene bags and accessories really round out the Southern Italian feel.
Fact is, a brand well executed conjures feelings and creates a story–even if it’s a story or a feeling about someplace you’ve never been. Like I’ve never been to an Italian prison, but man, this headband makes me feel like Anna Magnani in Nella città l’inferno. It carries a mystique that it just wouldn’t have if I bought it at Lululemon.
You can tell Terroni gets it because they deliver these feelings with every plate of pizza and pasta and with my brand new headband. So, let the whiners keep whining and call Terroni’s careful choices “unjustifiable pretentiousness.” I call it being on a mission and maintaining focus and love for the brand and avoiding distractions.
By the way, special props to my dad for taking the pictures. Great job dad!
