Donna Perri's Contact Details

Donna Perri's Company Details

Jessi's Restaurant

Pinellas Park, Florida, United States • 4 Employees
Restaurants

Our Product:Jessi's is widely known for the quality and variety of our kitchen's made-from-scratch dishes. Lasagna, Mamma's Bread, and many more have built Jessi's reputation. Only the best ingredients go into our high-quality dishesOur Family:Jessi's is family owned, with each family member contributing to its success. My father had a long history of managing restaurants. My maternal grandmother—everybody called her "Mamma"—was the cook for the restaurant's first ten years. (She decided to retire at age 80.) Since then, as I have assumed management of Jessie's, we continue our family's legacy by using Mamma's original recipes.Our Founder:My father, DJ, is a living example of the American Dream come true.He escaped from Communist Albania when he was 19 years old. In Yugoslavia, he was accused of being a spy, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. He escaped, was caught, escaped again, and finally reached a refugee camp in Italy. There, because of Geneva Convention rules, he was granted political asylum, received a visa, and came to the United States.On Christmas Day, 1964, he arrived in New York City with no family connections or financial resources. Starting as a dishwasher, he observed and learned the restaurant business, eventually working up to night manager at several restaurants. Meanwhile, he studied business administration at New York University.The quality of the restaurants DJ managed improved with his growing experience and education. As an employee of Restaurant Associates, he met and worked with Chef Joe Baum, the innovative restaurateur who created restaurants like the Four Seasons, a restored Rainbow Room, the Hawaiian Room, the Forum of the Twelve Caesars, Tavern on the Green, La Fonda Del Sol, Zum-Zum, Quo Vadis, the Trattoria, the Brasserie, and Windows on the World. In 1997, DJ and his wife Roza opened Jessi's. DJ has two children: daughter Judy who owns Studio 921 in Baltimore, and son Jason who manages Jessi's today.