Behind the Scenes at Luca: Italian Food and Heart

January 5, 2025 at 17:00 PT

Chef Roberto, Chef Vincenzo, and Bepi Gjoni

Founder and Owner Bepi Gjoni runs Luca the same way he ran his first business back in Florence, Italy - with hard work, kindness, and trust. His father owned a construction company, and by 23, Bepi had started his own. The transition to restaurants made sense to him. "Whether it's construction, delivery, or a restaurant, the most important thing is to communicate with people," he explains.

Growing up in Italy, going into a family business was an expectation. That entrepreneurial drive, that sense of family pride, came with Bepi when he moved to the US twenty years ago. "Everything is possible," he says, and after talking with him for a while, you can see he lives by those words.

Two weeks before Luca opened, Bepi met Eric, now the restaurant's bartender and what staff affectionately call the "unofficial translator." He knew Eric would be a good fit by the way he spoke about bartending. That instinct paid off. "Okay, come back tomorrow, we're going shopping," Bepi told him.

Staff at Luca pose for a photo

Chef Vincenzo came to the US from Sicily, spent a decade working at Italian restaurants in Seattle, and found himself drawn to Bepi's vision for authentic Italian cuisine. The entire staff speaks about Vincenzo's attention to detail and consistent quality with genuine respect.

Vincenzo takes sourcing seriously. Most produce comes from Washington farms, but the core ingredients - pasta, tomatoes, cheese, and meats - come from Italy. He spent years finding the right ricotta, which now makes the long journey from Palermo to Washington State through New York. It's a marriage of authentic Italian ingredients with Pacific Northwest sensibility.

Bepi trusts his staff completely and backs them even when customers complain. His response to criticism reflects his confidence in what he creates: "I believe in our food," Bepi says with a warm laugh. "We put our hearts into it. But I understand not every dish is for everyone."

What sets Luca apart is how Bepi sees the restaurant as part of the neighborhood fabric. The staff recalls an older woman who came in celebrating her birthday alone. They surrounded her with attention - special dishes, rare wine- turning what could have been a quiet, lonely evening into something worth remembering. Eric, who's worked at plenty of restaurants, says Bepi is the only owner he's met with this depth of care for the community. It's not performative. It's just who he is.

"Il cibo è il linguaggio dell'amore, qui. Food is the language of love here." - Bepi

For Everett residents who have never traveled to Italy, the staff approaches questions with patience and genuine enthusiasm. "I didn't come from an Italian restaurant background, so in many ways we learn together," Eric admits. For the Italian staff, answering questions isn't a chore - it's a chance to share something they love. "This isn't just our food, it's our culture, language, everything."

The team took special pride when UNESCO recently recognized Italian cooking as part of the world's "intangible cultural heritage", acknowledging family meals and traditional cooking practices.

In 2026, Bepi hopes to open a second restaurant led by Chef Roberto, who left his own successful restaurant in Italy to bring Tuscan cooking to Washington State. He'll be serving Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, a thick-cut Italian steak served rare - not currently offered by any restaurant in Everett.

"It'll be like going to Italy, but you don't have to get on a plane," Bepi says with a laugh, adding that it might be "more authentic than Florence."

Bepi believes deeply in quality, but his commitment to excellence isn't a marketing angle. He has enormous respect for the other restaurants in Everett and Snohomish County, and it's why opening something unique is so important to him.

It's a family value that crossed an ocean and found a home in the Pacific Northwest.

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