Stay Tranquilo - The Genius Behind Miami's Mister 01 Pizza: Chef Renato Viola’s Untold Story

Episode Date: November 19, 2025

Good morning, ¡Buenos Días! Welcome back to another episode of Cafecito y Croquetas, brought to you by Stay Tranquilo and H&CO.Today we’re joined by a very special guest — Chef Renato Viola, the Founder & Mastermind behind Mister 01 Extraordinary Pizza, one of Miami’s most loved and fastest-growing pizza brands.In this episode, we dive deep into Chef Renato’s incredible journey — from a small town near the Amalfi Coast to becoming a nationally recognized chef in the United States through the prestigious O-1 Visa. His story is one of passion, family, discipline, and a relentless commitment to quality.🍕 What We Cover in This Episode:Chef Renato’s childhood in South Italy & how his mother inspired his love for pizzaWorking in kitchens at 11 years old and learning from Italian “maestri pizzaioli”The real meaning behind the O-1 Visa and how Renato became the first pizza chef to earn itOpening the first Mister 01 in a tiny office building with only 9 seatsThe iconic star-shaped pizza, stuffed ricotta crust, truffle oil & what makes their dough uniqueBuilding community-focused restaurants across Miami: Wynwood, Coconut Grove, Brickell & moreExpanding to Texas, Atlanta… and now North Carolina (exclusive announcement!)The truth about entrepreneurship: hard work, consistency, and learning before leadingHow to stay present, grounded, and connected as a founder, chef, and fatherChef Renato’s #1 advice for anyone starting something of their ownWhy Mister 01 Became a Miami FavoriteChef Renato shares how he balances Italian quality with Miami culture — from using imported Italian ingredients to adapting flavors for the community. The result? A one-of-a-kind pizza experience with world-class hospitality.This Episode Is For You If You Love:✔️ Miami food culture✔️ Pizza (especially artisan pizza)✔️ Entrepreneurial journeys✔️ Immigrant stories of grit and success✔️ Conversations filled with passion, authenticity & inspirationLocations Mentioned:Miami BeachDowntown DoralBrickellWynwoodCoconut GroveTexas, AtlantaCharlotte (coming soon!)👇 Support the ShowMake sure to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more Miami stories, inspiring guests, and cafecito-fueled conversations.Follow us on Instagram: @staytranquilo Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning and Buenos Aires. Welcome back to another episode of Cafecito and Croqueta. It's brought to you by Stay Tranquilo and Achenko. Today, a very special episode and very special guests. We're joined by Chef Renato of Mr. O1. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so to having me here today. Absolutely. I just want to first off and say that I am a huge fan of Mr. O'1.

It is a Friday tradition for me and my girlfriend. We go to the location there in downtown Derao, and I get the star Elyza, I get the stuffed ricotta cheese in the crust, and it's like, it's what I look forward to on Fridays. Thank you, really. Thank you so much for your support. Of course. So today we have croquettas and pizza.

Croquettas, Cafesito, and Pizza. I mean, it doesn't get any more Miami than that. So before we kind of get into, you know, the story of Mr. O.1, I want to hear your story. Tell us a little bit where you're from, and then we can touch into how Mr. O. So my name is a. Renato. I'm originally from South Italy, near Amalfi Coast, a small city. And I moved in Miami when I was 30, now I'm 44. And super happy, super exciting to live here now. I come here with my wife.

And we have now two American kids. Super happy. Really super, super, super, super happy to stay here. and very. And what was the inspiration from moving from Italy to Miami? Well, I joined the hospitality, the pizza business, let's say, when I was super young. I started with my mom in the kitchen when I was four. You have to understand that in South Italy, most of the family, you spend all the time in the kitchen. You have the living room. I don't know.

The sofa brand new, nobody sit on the sofa. We eat in the kitchen, we do homeschool in the kitchen, we watch TV, we do everything in the kitchen. And Sunday, this is a special day. My mother always wake up

early in the morning, three or four a minute to do the ragu, the lasagna, special plate for Sunday. And I was wake up early with her and she told me always the story that she believed that I go in the pizza become in love with the pizza because one Sunday she was to do the dough for a pizza you know and I was so happy that I asked for three four other Sunday to do pizza until then my family said stop with pizza let's do something different but she believed that I become in love with

pizza for this reason. So your mom was was definitely the inspiration behind getting into pizza. I believe a lot of Italian mom love to cook and we spend so many time with them. And yes, then when I was 11, I always studied and work. Study and work because I love it. I start to go in some pizzeria working there or see if they don't want me there because I was super young. I said, no, I want to stay there. I remember I was not making money, but I spent with the maestro pizagallolo the time and see how they're doing. I was so fascinated. From there, step by step, I have the discretion of the pizza, and I start to grow.

And when I start to be 18, after a different maestro of pizza, we call them. I want to understand really how is the dough, how is the Owen, you know? Because when you go with the Maest, I talk about 30 years ago, you ask them, example, why you don't put the East with the soul together? And the answer was, because this is what my teacher say. So why the Owen is working like this? Because this is what my teacher, my maestro. So they really don't know.

just because somebody tells them. I was starting to be so curious, and I believe that why, example, a lawyer has to study, to become a lawyer, a doctor, a doctor, a pizza maker has not to study to become a pizza maker. So I started to study. I started to go in a different pizza school

until I become a teacher. And then I start to travel, you know, Italy, I started to talk to Europe. I was part of the Italian national acrobatic team. and have so much fun. I always say that I was so lucky that with a pizza I traveled the world without spend money. But the United States was always my dream.

I want to prove. I want to show that I can't do it. And it was this opportunity to come in Miami when I was 30. And I take it. Honestly, I come here first with my girlfriend, that is now my wife, and say, what do you think? And of course, who doesn't like Miami? It's hard not to.

Yes. So we accept this challenge, and now it's 15 years we are here. That's incredible. So when you came to Miami, what was kind of the thought process, right? Obviously, you had a love for pizza, but was it, I want to open a pizza shop? Before all this, and there's time I don't know. You have to go to immigration lawyer. Right.

We talk about visa. We are immigrant here. And I remember still today I went to this fantastic lawyer. When he saw my curriculum, we say, Renato, very difficult. Maybe you're going to be the first one, but we're going to apply for the O-1 visa. Say, okay, I don't know what was there, was a one visa. Now I'm very happy that he take care, you know, and he applied for the O-1-WIS. So the O-1 visa is the United States.

try to bring the best of the best from outside. This O-1 visit is for extraordinary ability. And I talk about athletic, chef, researcher, you know, in all the different fields. And no one applied in the pizza business. But he believed in the best of my curriculum, because when I was in Europe, I was also, I want some competition.

I was part of the national acrobatic team. I start to work with pizza school, with culinary school, with TV. So I say, you can do it. Do it. I don't know it was. And today I'm grateful that I received this one visa. That's incredible. I'm here now.

Yeah, I didn't even know that that was a thing, you know, coming in and being able to get some sort of visa like that. And it's obviously a testament to you put in all that time and effort when you were, you know, at home in Italy, learning and growing. where it then allowed you to be recognized for that opportunity and then obviously started your life here in the States. So when you came into the U.S., you're 30 years old, right? Yes, sir. What was, fast forward, obviously, to today, but what was that journey like once you got here into the States?

What were you trying to achieve once you got here? Well, I believe in goal. And I'm a dreamer, of course, but I always, behind the dream, I put a small goal to reach. And my goal was to live here, to show that working hard. Believe what you're doing, you can do it everywhere, not just the United States. Absolutely. So I opened this pizzeria, Mr. Juan, with my business partner.

The story is super fun in this office building with no sign. and against a lot of people because they believe they were going to fail after three or two six months because believe me nine table inside and behind the Lincoln Road that Lincoln Road the last time was Lincoln Road so against people they believe say why if somebody has to come in this office building you don't have window we are on the Lincoln Road they say you know what I believe that if you spend time with a researching quality product and offer an extraordinary service, people don't care what they're going to eat. Of course, I'm never going to compare a Mr. Juan location to so many beautiful locations you have in Miami. But in pizza, I believe I can be different. Never going to

say we are the best because I don't believe in the best in food because everybody has different test but for sure we are different. Our menu prove, you know, that we have different type of pizza. How you say, the start, I think is unique. And then now we are here, you know. Yeah. It's amazing, obviously, what you've been able to build. But it's like that moment, right, when you chose to say, hey, I'm going to start this

pizza place. There's a lot of fear that goes into something like that. And I think a lot of people always have these dreams and these ambitions, right? And you mentioned you have to be a dreamer. And I think that's where it all begins, right? Everything starts with a dream. You have to be a dreamer, but behind a dream you have to put hard work. Sometimes you don't see this.

You have to put hard work. Point, that's it. Do it. Start, you know. Exactly. Make experience first. Today, a lot of people say, you know, Be your own boss.

Don't work for other people. I disagree with this. I'm really sorry. Because I say, how you can learn, how you can improve, how you can make maybe mistake for somebody else. It costs you less that you do for you if you don't work for somebody. So, believe me or no, thanks God, I opened when I was 30. I make already 15 years of experience because maybe it was before.

Right. And have opportunity also in Europe to open. but I never want to open because I want to make an experience. When I open, I already have their mentality, small experience to want a small shop. One thing is very important that I always say. When I was in Europe, I operated two pizza, a pizzeria there, and everyone, all my friends say,

hey, why you work so hard? It's not your pizza, you know, why you care so much? so much. Everybody thinks that you are the owner. I was not, you know, but I believe that you, in this way, you can training your mind, your mindset is going to be there. And when you open your business, you already know what you have to do. So this is very important, I believe. So working hard, I think, is still the key, you know. Absolutely. Like, the dream can't become a reality without the hard work, right? And I think, we hear you got to work hard, you got to work hard, right?

I think people understand that, but I don't think they actually understand what that hard work is until you do it, right? And being an entrepreneur and being a founder is nice on paper, but no one talks about all the nuances that come into it. So talk to me a little bit, right? You open that restaurant, but talk to me about, you know,

how difficult it is, like the transparency behind, you know, starting something of your own. honestly when we open the first one was not so difficult how it's today because today a little bit more challenge because you know

the city is growing and everything but Mr. One is me and my business partner Rumberto and we found together and we say hey well honestly the father of my business partner

he tell me why you don't pardon with my son. He's in the marketing. He's finished a master here. He's from Italy too, huh? Okay. And maybe you can open your small pizzeria. I say, you know what? And I know this son, we was playing together sometime and basketball, you know.

Why not? And after we found this small location, we sit each other and looking in there, I say, are we going to do it? We're going to trust each other. and was a yes. Believe me, also, from him trusted me on the choice of the location. You have to go inside this.

You cannot understand. It's literally in an office building. And you go in and you're going to see, and you have just now in a seat. Thanks, he trusts me, you know. So we signed the list. We found an amazing landlord that is key.

that give us the opportunity to open this pizza shop and nothing. From them on, I believe, just working hard, working hard, be consistent, that is key. And if you are consistent, nothing is difficult. But today, consistency, I see that it's a little bit, people don't give so much focus. But for me, consistent is the most important things.

Believe what are you doing and you can reach any goal. Absolutely. So when was that moment when you're there where you're realizing, okay, I'm ready for that second location and kind of like that growth phase of Mr. O-1? So the first year I was working seven days in the store. Today we have a commissary kitchen where we do the production because we develop a software that is incorporated in the spiral mixer without recipes. And we have our own flour.

We're important from Italy. It already is our recipe with different type of flour already mixed. So I can take you tomorrow in our commissary kitchen. I show you one time how to do it. You know how to do our dough. You know, very easy because it's just touching the cream. They stop when else to stop. They tell you when you have to put the olive oil, the salt.

Everything is. Wow. Yeah. schematic and have the formula. But the time, I have a small spiral mixer that I can put half a bag of flour and mix it. So every morning, me alone, at 7 in the morning, I was doing the dough. Then at 8 o'clock, start to come another couple guys helping me do the ball by hand, you know, think about. Yeah.

When we have the opportunity for the second location, thanks to Carlo Gallant, that is the owner of Dolores, Lolaida, in Brickle. He was our fan. He said, hey, guys, I want to give you part of our location, Sublis, part of our location in Dolores, and I want you to have to come there. I tell you, I was a South Beach guy. So no car for seven years. And for me, Miami was South Beach. Right. That was it.

That is it. And talking with my business partner, I was just once in Brickell. The time was nothing, I remember. And I say, I don't know if it's the right place. My husband, my business partner, I say, no, no, we have to go. And thanks God, we've been there. And thanks God to Carlo Gowan, believe in us. It supplies our space in Brickle and give us the energy, the recognition of other people, and we start to grow.

In the mid-time, nobody knows. Before Brickle, we sign allocation in Wimboot, too. What we want to do, and we would was no VINBoot. Also, when we signed there, everybody, you guys are crazy. It's not a good area. And I said, no, let's sign, I believe in North Miami Avenue. But some issue delayed with construction. So what's the moment that we have this opportunity we break or we take it?

But for the second location, we already signed for Windwood. Also, we open as a third one. Okay. And from them on, honestly, we are growing, growing more different communities. You know Miami Haur East. They have different community. We talk about Miami Beach, North Miami. We have Coconogro, Wind Wood area, Design District.

So everybody asks us, hey, why? Hey, why do you not come here? And we always listen, listen, listen. So from them one, wherever community believe that we can fit in their community, we evaluate and we're going to go. because it's very important to be part of their community. Absolutely. Yeah, and I think you talk about the growth of Miami, right?

Yes. Miami has obviously catapulted over the course of the last, you know, five, ten years and will continue to grow, right? It's definitely not slowing down anytime soon, but it's being able to immerse yourself in the experiences of the different communities, right? The grove is one place and it has a very different kind of feel to it, kind of different audience to it. But yet when you go there, you have having. the experience of what Mr. O.1 provides in an environment where it may be different than South Beach or in North Miami or Windwood, but you know for sure that you're going to get the quality of the product no matter where you go.

Absolutely. And how you know we have now today, in Illinois, Miami, we start to grow in all Florida. Then we are in two states, Texas, and in Atlanta. Wow. And this is maybe the first time I shared with somebody that we already signed also for for North Carolina. By the second quarter of next year, we're going to open in Charlotte. That's amazing.

Congratulations. Super happy. That's awesome. And when you make those, one thing is expanding, you know, regionally or locally amongst, you know, one city or one state, but going into a completely different market,

what's the thought process behind that? Is that people saying, hey, I was in Miami, I had Mr. O-1, and now I'm going back home, and I want to go have it, where I'm back home? Yeah. So we have a very strong.

strong on our marketing team that they share always with us. We receive a lot of, how you call when somebody texts you private in Instagram. Oh, like a DM. D.N. Yeah. Sorry. Yeah. And they say, hey, you have to come here.

You have to come here. We listen. And we see also, you know, Miami is growing, but Florida is growing. Absolutely. And also, the only the city, the people are growing. Their food experience are growing. Social media, one thing they help a lot, is show everybody different type of food. Maybe before it was more difficult, but today you can

really understand how it's make a pizza in New York, how it's making a pizza in Italy, maybe in Germany, you know. So you can really understand different type of food. And people are curious also to try. So I believe that we want to grow in all city that are foodies. Our city they like good food. And how we're doing this? Honestly, very simple to find the right person. Because I believe still hospitality is not only the food you give it, but it's all the rest. So you need really the right person to represent you. Yeah, no doubt.

So I want to talk a little bit about the pizza, right, the product. Obviously, I have a lot of inspiration from home and the upbringing with your mom cooking in the kitchen, right? But what is it that makes Mr. Owen pizza so unique, right? You talked about the star-shaped pizza,

you talked like the stuffed crust. There's definitely components to the pizza that I believe are unique as a consumer, but coming from the chef, like, what's your perspective. My perspective is and very simple. When I create a pizza or ingredients

or toppings I use for a pizza, anything I use it, I eat and I give to my family, to my kids. So I'm going to choice always the most healthy,

the most best where I can found. And I have a combination between an Italian product, example where you can no find here. Our flour is very unique. The prosciutto, we partner with Levoni, that is one of the best manufacturing eaters of prosciutto, mortadella, whatever they're doing.

Yeah, so good. Believe me, the Levoni what is doing for us is amazing. So the granopadano, the extra virgin olive oil, the truffle oil, everything we can import it from Italy that you can have found here. important and plus we're going to try to partner with a local company here in the United States so we have a combination of wherever we can found of course based of also price and everything and that's it so it's not really a cigarette believe me today you don't have really secret to do a good food what make us the

different is that we really really are obsessed with guests. So for us the guest is everything. Not only when they come in the store but also when we they order of delivery or the pickup for us, we are obsessed with the guests. We try always in our best to make our guests happy and I believe with a good product that we have a good pizza with an extraordinary service make the difference. I think this is the the magic that make us different.

Do you think when people are sitting at Mr. I, it's a taste of like your home? Do you feel that way, you know, a taste of Italy, a taste of home? I want to be very honest. No, really. I believe it's more a taste of everybody has working there. So when you test a pizza, because I also adapt my pizza of what people want. When I was in Italy, my pizza was not so crispy. It was a little bit less crispy.

You know, still a long maturation of 72 to 96 hour. I was more soft. When I come here, I adapt and make more crispy. So I try always to adapt. When I opened my first pizza, the pizzeria, I don't have pineapple on my pizza, but after one, two, three, four, 20 guests. ask me to have a pizza with pineapple, guest number 21, have the pizza with pineapple, you know. So I always try to make them happy, understand from where they are coming from, where we are,

and adapt Mr. Juan, where we open, we also try to educate our guests, where we're example when we talk about prosciutto, why our people. prosciutto is so different. Our prosciutto is at 20 months. What they means? What they means working in this way? How is you select, you know, your prosciutto, why know from Canada or somewhere else? Why know 16 months? So we try to educate our guests with, give them explanation why it's different, you know? And so with the prosciutto, so with our burrata, so with our spicy oil, we like to explain. why. So anything we're doing has to have a reason. And the the truffle oil that you guys have

is delicious. I think the first time I ever had a Mr. One pizza, I had it with the with the truffle oil. And I remember like my taste buds were just, or we're going crazy. Miami, Miami, love. Truffle. Anything with truffle is like always the best seller. And no, it's, it's amazing what you've been able to achieve. And you talk about that guest experience and making the guests happy and coming just as someone that is a witness of Mr. 01 on a regular basis, I could feel that, you know, whether it's me picking up the order or it's me sitting down at the restaurant, the experience always feels great. You always feel welcomed. The pizza does feel like it's a pizza made for you, like for me, right? Like it's something that I know whatever

that day I'm in the mood for, I could find something for that. And I think that's something very unique. Thank you. It's awesome. What would you say, you know, looking back, right? You're looking back at yourself as a child and looking at yourself today. What is the thing that you're most proud of starting Mr. O'1? We talk about business, Mr. O'1. I'm very proud that we have a great reputation. Great reputation in the business, with other business, with our team, you know, the respect we have. I'm very proud of the reputation that we create. It's beautiful what you guys have built.

And I know you talk about what's coming now in the horizon with new locations, but is there anything else in the next five, ten years you would like to see from Mr. O'1? For sure, somebody else going to say I want to have 100, 200, 300. I'm not the type of guy. I like to live in the present. I try to live in the present, you know, because it's the most important. Absolutely. Of course, with my mind, I'm in the future, but my goal is always to open in each community

that won Mr. Juan and be successful with each Mr. Juan. So for me, it's more important to be success with each Mr. One, then open a thousand and then close and maybe some of them. Right. You brought up something interesting there, right, about being present. It's something that I generally, preach on a on everyday basis right but it is something that is difficult right because you always are getting caught up in the goals and the aspirations that you have how do you practice presence

and being in the moment um i try always to spend most of my time with uh with our team they give you energy they let you feel in the present you know and of course when you grow then you're going to have different departments we start with seven people right now we are at thousand on mr one and I try to be with everybody so coming here I was calling in Texas in Atlanta they have to feel that I'm there you know the other one that they they believe that the chef is not reachable or it's too high you know I talk with everybody in any pizzerie I go first person believe me I'm gonna go to say hello before our general I go to the disposal something I always do for

me I start as a disbursed. So for me, it's a disrespectful position. A lot of people understand how important is the disposal position when they lose one. So I start for them and then I'm going to say, hello to every single person working with us. And of course, then I'm going to spend time with the guests. So spending time with your team and with the guests, they let you feel life and in the present. And this is why we work so hard. Absolutely. The sensation is something

you cannot understand. We work so hard. And before we put the pizza in front of you, we already have four days of work because we do 72 hours of

moderation, the dough and consistent and training. For what? For your first bite? and see your eyes, hopefully you like. Right, of course. But you see the depression and... Yeah, there's probably no better feeling

than seeing someone like take that. For me, no better feeling. That's amazing. No better feeling. And that's a testament to, you know, you're so passionate about what you do and it's shown in the product in it, and that's amazing.

Before we wrap up, I always like to provide some sort of value to the listeners, right? You're an entrepreneur, but you're also a chef. You know, you're a father. what's just one piece of advice that you would leave for someone that's aspiring to start something of their own and balancing that whole dynamic of life as a whole? Yeah, so very honestly, I'm 44. Yes, we have experience, but I don't think that I have so much experience to already give advice to other people. I still make mistake. Part of your journey. One thing if everybody allowed me to share is make first experience, anything you're going to do, make first experience before you work for yourself.

You know, because when you work for yourself, then you have to work, of course, harder and harder. But let me talk in the hospitality. I believe that waiting until I was 30 was a great choice. Don't rush. You're going to always have your opportunities. So my only small advice I can give today is make experience before you take that leap into and start an experience. I could definitely test to that. I believe we still make a lot of mistakes.

100%. But I think that sums up life as a whole, right? Yeah. It's okay to make those mistakes. And then that's part of the process. But also adding to what you mentioned, you can maybe make less mistakes if you take the time. to learn more and maybe not jump straight into something. For example, when we have meeting with Operation Meeting,

they say, hey, chef, you have this problem. They are not allowed to use the word problem in our company. We have a situation, you know. We have a challenge. But problem, believe in the life, there are so many. So we're going to have an everyday new challenge. This is where we like to be consistent. But this is who we are.

What we like to do, having a challenge every day. Amen. That's awesome. Well, Chef, thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for the conversation. I just want to say, again, congratulations to you, the team,

and all the amazing work that you guys do. And like I've mentioned, you have a fan here and many fans across. Thank you so much. I want to say thank you so much to all our team. They are on my side. And I'm going to say, behind me, because believe me, they're amazing.

All the operator we have in Texas, you know, in Atlanta, we are one family, and without them, we can now expand and be consistent. Absolutely. It's a team effort. Yeah, absolutely, always. Well, thank you so much. Thank you. I'll see you soon. Thank you for the coffee.

Of course.