GGRA Member Success Stories

Date: Thursday, Aug 30, 2012
Time: 04:04PM to 04:04PM

GGRA has an amazing group of entrepreneurs and talented business owners within our membership. A former scholarship recipient of the GGRA’s Scholarship Foundation has now been added to that list. Earlier this month some major changes took place in the ownership of long time GGRA member restaurant Palio d’Asti when Chef/Owner Dan Scherotter, former GGRA President, sold the restaurant to his front of House Manager, Martino DiGrande. It all started when Dan decided to take on the expansion of the culinary program within the San Francisco Unified School district’s Career Technical Education Department by becoming the Chef Instructor for John O’Connell High School’s new culinary class. He’ll be teaching the Pro-Start curriculum to over 40 eager students as well as being the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism’s liaison between participating businesses and the school district’s four Academy of Hospitality programs.

Martino’s connection with GGRA began with the association’s scholarship foundation when in 2005, while finishing his program at University of San Francisco, he was given one of the top scholarships awarded by the foundation that year. The Trustees were impressed with his deep San Francisco roots, his family owned DiGrande’s Restaurant in the outer Sunset for many years, and his great work ethic. Martino was working at the family business while taking more than a full time course load in order to graduate early from USF. It wasn’t long before he was working for Chef Dan at Palio d’Asti and he was well on his way!

You can read the full story of Dan’s transition here from Inside Scoop, and Martino’s story here. We are so proud of them both and wish them both the best of luck!