I grew up on the Northside of Syracuse, NY and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Le Moyne College. I moved to Florida when I was 27 and stayed there for 12 years where I began working with Enterprise Rent A Car and learned what it took to run a business. During this time, I met my wife and we had two children. My wife grew up in Leslie and we decided to make it our home in August of 2018. I transferred with Enterprise and continued to work with them until the pandemic hit. In April 2020, I was laid off due to the pandemic. A couple of months later we decided to buy Main Street Bakery and Cafe. In my free time, while I am not working at the bakery, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I also enjoy hunting, fishing, playing and coaching sports, and cooking. One of my other passions involves giving back to the community. I am currently the President of the Leslie Chamber of Commerce, I also am a member of the Woodworth PTO and the Leslie Teachers’ Tribe.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
My parents were born and raised in Reggio Calabria, Italy. They moved to the United States in 1972 and settled in Syracuse, NY where they had my older brother Antonino, my sister Rosa, myself, and my younger sister Maria. My parents taught us from a young age the importance of family and community just as their parents taught them. At a very young age, we were taught work ethic and what it means to take care of family and community. We worked with my Zio’s (Uncles) at their construction company every day after school, on Saturdays, and in the summers we worked all week long. Sundays were for family, church, and community. We would wake Sunday morning to the smell of my mom cooking her sauce. Every Sunday we had some sort of pasta, baked ziti, spaghetti, ziti with spare ribs, and potatoes. It was an all-day (event) that would gather our family together. I learned from my mom how to cook but I also learned from my dad how to bake and make pastries since he was an Italian Pastry Chef when they lived in Italy. Since then it’s always been a passion of mine. Since having a family of my own, I have continued a lot of the traditions we grew up with. We eat together as a family around a dinner table every night, and we have big lunches on Sundays together. We are raising our boys to understand the importance of work and how you get out what you put in.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
Out of college, I started my career working for North East Hawley Development Association (NEHDA). They were a small non-profit group that focused on community rebuilding through events and bringing affordable housing to the community. It was a great combination for me to be able to use my love for our community along with my construction skills (which I learned from my uncles), and my business skills (which I learned from LeMoyne). I spent a lot of volunteer time in the community helping our residents, businesses, and community leaders to bring back an area of our community that we all loved. In 2007, I decided to move to Florida, where I began working for Enterprise Rent A Car. They taught me more about business and how to run my own successful business but apart from that was their passion to help the communities they were in as well. One of their founding values was: “We strengthen our communities one neighborhood at a time.” I learned a great amount about what it takes for communities to thrive and have businesses and residents live and work together. In 2019, I finally got the chance to do what I learned all those years. I opened Main Street Bakery and Cafe with my wife, Kristen Ambroggio. Since opening, we have stuck to our core values of providing for the community with goods, services, donations, and volunteer hours.
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Two of my favorite restaurants in our community are Boss Cider and Crossroads. We enjoy the cider, atmosphere, and food at Boss Cider. On Saturdays, Crossroads has some amazing BBQ that we have enjoyed. We also like to support local businesses in the community. We continue to enjoy collaborating with Boss Cider and look forward to many more opportunities to work together with other businesses in the community.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
I have lived in the Leslie community since August of 2018. We wanted more of a sense of small-town community and roots and this is where my wife grew up.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
I met Bruce Haynes when I purchased the bakery in 2019. Bruce is a local farmer, handyman, and retired police officer, who also served in the Navy. Bruce started to help the old owner of the bakery before he sold it to us. I could tell that Bruce had a great heart and loved helping people. Bruce is so much more than the titles I described before, Bruce is kind, caring, and loves to tell stories. He and his wife Dieuwke have become great friends to my family and me.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
I would travel to Italy, for the food and to meet my family.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and Seinfeld. You have to be able to laugh in life and this movie and tv show do just that. It’s everyday life and the humor in the things that happen to all of us.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Follow your gut and never compromise who you are as a person.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
I don’t really have a bucket list per se but traveling and spending time in the Upper Peninsula area would definitely be on there.
Q: Who is your “go-to” band when you can’t decide what music you want to hear?
I don’t necessarily have a “go-to” band but any country music that has a great beat to it.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
Growing up on the NorthSide of Syracuse we had three great bakeries within a four-block radius of our house. Columbus Bakery for their Italian point loaves, Di Lauro’s Bakery for their butter rolls, and Buttercup Bakery for their fresh donuts. On a Friday or Saturday when we occasionally didn’t work, we would walk to one of these bakeries and enjoy a special treat. That is something that I wanted to bring to Leslie. The bakery and Boss Cider definitely makes me the most nostalgic about our community. With the bakery, you have the joy of going somewhere with your family for a special treat. One of the great things about Boss is they have an outdoor patio where you can relax and have some food and drinks with friends or family as we used to when I grew up in Syracuse.
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Marv Levy, the former coach of the Buffalo Bills when they lost the four Super Bowls in a row. I think it’s only fair to have lunch at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY which is the famed birthplace of the Buffalo Chicken wing! I chose him because I would like to personally thank him, see how he persevered year after year, and see what if anything he would have done differently. Now, while others see four straight losses. I see a coach that achieved something so great that had never been done before and determined that no matter how many times you fail, you must keep trying. That’s where greatness comes from.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
The Homecoming Parade to me was definitely something that was unique and gave me a sense of belonging. On that day, what felt like the entire community showed up, which to me growing up in a big city and large high school didn’t really happen. That day there was a moment during that parade where I knew everything was just right and I was where I needed to be.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I see our business doing well and growing. I hope to see the downtown business community growing and thriving with more retail and dining establishments. I also hope The Leslie Chamber of Commerce continues to grow and partner with local businesses on creating an environment that helps businesses develop and grow. I hope to continue being more involved in the community and hopefully holding a seat on the local school board. Also, volunteer more time and energy to the PTO and Teacher Tribe.
Q: What is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
Most people don’t know that I actually grew up speaking Italian and didn’t learn the English language until 2nd grade. During that time growing up, we didn’t have the resources we do today with children learning English in schools. A box truck that was converted to a classroom would come to our school a couple of times a week. The teacher would teach my cousin Joe, our childhood friend Veda, and myself the English language.
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
The Upper Peninsula.
Q: Favorite month? Favorite holiday? Best single day on the calendar?
October – fall is my favorite season. My favorite holiday would have to be Christmas and my best single day on the calendar is the opening day of deer hunting season.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
My Nonno (grandfather) Domenico LaFace. Now it’s hard to think of anyone as perfect because we all have our flaws, but he is my 10. He was a gentleman who loved his wife, my Nonna (grandma). He treated her with respect, and admiration and absolutely adored her. He always put her and the family first in everything he did. Whether it was helping my nonna with chores around the house, making dinner, or his famous meatballs!!! He loved to garden and was meticulous at it. He was a man who listened and when he spoke you would pay attention to what he had to say. He was a great storyteller and would love to make people laugh. We would enjoy playing cards together or listen to him talk about his childhood and growing up in 1902. He is my 10 and is someone I look up to and strive to be as perfect as him.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My children are a large inspiration in my life, they drive me to succeed not only for my personal success but for their success.
Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
My mom’s cooking and walking into the bakery.
Q: Who would you like to see nominated for The Faces of Ingham County?
Amy Dunlap, Instructional Coach and Field Trip Coordinator at Michigan Connections Academy, Vice President of the PTO at Woodworth Elementary, Creator of The Leslie Teachers’ Tribe, Youth Sports Coach, Active Community Member, Advocate for School Choice, wife of a local farmer, and mother. Amy has dedicated her career to doing what’s best for kids, schools and the community. She does this in many ways including coaching youth sports, volunteering her time at Leslie Public Schools, helping get the Woodworth PTO up and running, and being involved in local community events. Amy is a person who puts her love for community and children first. Her work at Michigan Connections Academy has led her to be named 2022 Michigan Charter Teacher of the Year. Amy also does a tremendous amount of advocacy for school choice. Her passion is to ensure all students and educators are able to have choices to find their perfect fit in education and it’s easy to see that. She’s instilled the fact that education isn’t a one size fits all approach and when both educators and students find their perfect fit success happens.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Family, Love, and Community (Leslie Blackhawk Family), are the three words that come to mind when I think of the word home.
