After taking a lovely and much-needed break at the historic Twin Gables Bed and Breakfast, we headed out to explore the immediate neighborhood, the restaurant area on 4th Street. We were going for a walk, but considering I’d been really sick with an incredible chest cold for the past few days, venturing out into the cold night air had me a little wary. Henry from Twin Gables was kind enough to offer to drive us a few blocks to a restaurant called Il Giardino, one of the places that had been highly recommended for this area by Tourism Calgary.
We walked into a Mediterranean-looking restaurant that was packed with people. We were seated at a cozy table and had the opportunity to spend some time with the owner, Mike Ciccaglione, and his restaurant manager, Dorothy, to learn more about this establishment. Wherever I go, I try to get the human stories, and boy, was I in for an interesting one here. Little did I realize I had connected with one of Calgary’s most successful entrepreneurs, a true immigrant success story.
Mike was born in the Italian region of Molise and left Italy when he was 16 years old to study business administration and restaurant and hotel management in Switzerland. He came to Canada in 1962, after which he worked in a variety of hotels and restaurants in Calgary and Banff. He also studied English as a second language. In 1967 he opened his first restaurant called the Prairie Dog Inn, which initially specialized in Mexican food.
As if that wasn’t enough, Mike opened the Mexican Village chain of fast food restaurants in various malls and in 1980 he opened the “Pied Pickle” chain.
Logically, he decided to expand his business to include the supply and distribution of tortillas and other Mexican foods: the El Molino food manufacturer was born. This company manufactures Mexican food products, as well as pizzas and Italian pasta dishes, and distributes its products to warehouses in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal.
In 1998 Mike opened “Il Giardino” (the ultimate in Italian food and fun), a restaurant where all the dishes were homemade, it had always been his big dream.
When we walked into this restaurant I had no idea we would meet such a successful Canadian entrepreneur. At the same time, you’d never know: Mike walks around in casual clothes, laughs and smiles a lot, and always keeps his eyes open for guests’ enjoyment of him. During our conversation, he got up several times to greet or take leave of guests, and Dorothy referred to him as a “big flirt.” It’s blatantly obvious that even at 65 years of age, Mike loves what he makes of him and Dorothy told us that he makes the rounds daily at his various Calgary businesses. Mike is one of those people who loves his work and always has a sparkle in his eye.
Dorothy has an interesting story: she is originally from Montreal and her husband, an engineer in the oil industry, hails from England. Before Calgary, they lived in Montreal, St. John’s/Newfoundland, as well as Jakarta, where they ended up as refugees in Singapore for a month during President Suharto’s coup. Now they settled down to a quieter life in Calgary.
Mike attributes his success to a strong commitment to quality ingredients and preparation, crediting much of his fortune to the great support of his wife Lucy, daughter Judy and son Michael Jr. and hopes that one day his children will make position. He also recognizes the importance of his employees as a critical success factor. He told us that he feels it is very important to reward his employees and that many of the Il Giardino Restaurant employees have been there for over 10 years. A young couple, the night manager and the hostess, have 15 years of service (5 years at Il Giardino and 10 years at Pied Pickel) between them and Dorothy confirmed that people really enjoy working here. Mike says “You’re nothing until people make you someone”, that’s why he treats his employees well and appreciates his winning team.
The construction of Il Giardino is a story in itself: Mike designed the restaurant and one of his old friends, Walter Petrin, did all the masonry work, while his other great friend Vic Finot was the general contractor. Every Friday, he and these two special friends get together to solve the world’s problems. Oddly enough, the next day the problems start all over again.
Outside of work, Mike loves spending time with friends, some of whom he has known for 40 years. His family is very supportive and his wife spends a lot of her time doing charity work. Mike also supports the United Way and various fundraising campaigns for breast cancer and Calgary Children’s Hospital.
He still returns to Italy from time to time, although he says he has seen almost everything in his home country. So now he’s thinking about traveling to places like Asia, Africa and Latin America as long as it’s safe and reasonably clean. Mike loves soccer and even used to own a local soccer team called El Molinos Dinos. Another of Mike’s great passions is his Ferrari and he said that from time to time he puts it up for sale just to see the interest from potential buyers. But when it comes down to it, he really has no intention of selling it.
But that’s not all: Mike is also a movie star! He has had roles in “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” as well as “Cool Runnings.” It seems like Mike is always up to something, and when you listen to his list of efforts, it seems incredible that one person could do all of this.
Mike embodies hospitality and while we were there he insisted that we get a real feel for what his kitchen is capable of. For starters, we tried Il Giardino’s soups: I tried a Stracchiatelle egg drop soup while my husband ordered the “Brodo con Polpettine e Pasta” (chicken broth with small meatballs and pasta). I was then able to try Il Giardino’s famous Calamari (extremely tasty and tender) while Nigel ate his Bruschetta bread. We also received a sample plate of appetizers – Italian Antipasto (ham with melon).
That wasn’t all: we also tried Il Giardino’s homemade Gnocchi della Nonna which, by the way, is made in house by Mike’s 70 year old sister. Then, we couldn’t believe it, the main course arrived: a tasting plate of three of Il Giardino’s specialties: Pollo ai Funghi (chicken breast in a white wine sauce topped with mushrooms), Piccata al Limone (veal with lemon and white wine sauce) and Agnello al Rosmarino (lamb meat in rosemary, mint and red wine sauce). I’m not usually a big meat eater, but these dishes were phenomenal, the meat was tender, the sauces very flavorful without being overwhelming. Mike capped off a fabulous meal with a tasting of the most famous Italian dessert – tira misu.
Without exaggeration, our dining experience at Il Giardino ranks as one of the best restaurant experiences of my life, the food was delicious. I love Italian food, and the people at Il Giardino certainly know how to prepare Italian delicacies. We had to take a doggy bag to our bed and breakfast, there was no way we could eat all this delicious food. There is no doubt that Il Giardino serves excellent freshly made food. And even more so, it was a pleasure to meet the creator behind this welcoming neighborhood institution.