the founder shares his recipe for success
Fresh and local products, a team of professionals provided and above all, a great concept straight from America.
Don’t imagine him with a hat and an apron, Grégory Campi is more of a jersey and crampons type. He is a football coach, and before combining his passion for football with catering, the forty-year-old is having a great career as a professional footballer.
Beyond Monaco, he has played in France, Italy, Belgium, the United States and Canada. It was also across the Atlantic, in Montreal, that in 2000, the sportsman had THE good idea. That of selling pasta in cones, on site or to take away. “There was a little couple who did that. I found the idea brilliant. I thought it was a change from sandwiches, pizzas and salads,” Confides the Monegasque.
Once retired in 2007, and supported by his wife, a teacher in the Principality, he looked for premises in Monaco, in his old neighborhood: Fontvieille. Attention, fast food does not mean poor quality for Grégory Campi, and this is perhaps one of the keys to the success of Alden’T. “From the start, I wanted a chef and a pastry chef, so that we would have homemade sauces and desserts,” explains the boss who has also bet on competitive prices.
Indeed, you don’t ruin yourself by going to Alden’T. The menu with 250 grams of pasta with a homemade sauce, a homemade dessert and a drink is 9.90 euros. Moreover, those who like to end their meal with a sweet touch are served: the pastries are all more appetizing than the other. Crème caramel, tiramisu, chocolate mousse, chocolate fondant, crumbles, pies, white cheeses, fruit salads… The choice is wide. “Yannick is an extraordinary pastry chef”enthuses the owner, a smile glued to his lips.
Five kinds of pasta and six kinds of sauces, including one of the day, are offered (available on the Facebook page ofAlden’T each morning). To vary the pleasures, lunchtime gourmets can also choose a salad or soup formula. “In summer, we prepare good little gazpachos and in winter we can serve zucchini velouté or minestrones ». The founder of Italian origin admits with great self-mockery that he absolutely does not know how to cook. “On the other hand, I love the good food of the mamma, and Cécile, our chef, is perfect in this role”.
She composes with fruits and vegetables from a Monegasque primeur that delivers to the restaurant every morning. “We like to make locals work”slips the boss who also works with the local grocery store “Riberi”, deployed in the Principality for decades. “They have been our two main collaborators for 15 years”he continues.
I want to see as much Alden’T as possible
What makes the success of the restaurant is also its friendliness. “On a fabulous clientele and incredible stories to tell. Couples have been created in Alden’T and married. Some now have children, they are called “Alden’T babies”. There have been many emotions for 15 years. Once, regulars, who have been transferred, came to say goodbye to us with a gift and tears. »
Alden’T exports to Beausoleil and elsewhere
At this time, Grégory Campi has encountered double bites. He has just opened a franchise in Beausoleil. “Creating franchises is the idea of my two children Théo and Thiago”. It is also from his two offspring aged around twenty that the name of the restaurant comes from. If for many “Alden’T” sounds like the perfect pasta doneness, the “T” highlighted is a nod to its two sons. “It was Olivier Fredenucci, the restaurant’s designer, who came up with this play on words. »
And since you don’t change a winning team, it’s always Olivier Fredenucci who takes care of the design of the franchises. “We keep the colors and the logo, we just move the concept”, assures Grégory Campi who is delighted to see the already numerous customers at the doors of the restaurant which opened on July 1 at the Monegasque border. He therefore thinks of spreading out a little more, and has, therefore, “a few trails in Nice and Paris”.
What more can we keep from Grégory Campi? “I want to see as much Alden’T as possible, and ideally managed by my children”projects the papa poule. “It’s our baby, we thought it, we created it and we bring it to life. It is a 100% family project. My sister opened with me 15 years ago, she now manages the first franchise in Beausoleil. A real family pride!