Posted by matthewd on Friday, May 26, 2017 in 2017 Blog post.

FoodSicily is a small market located just off of the Lungomare that offers various wines, meats, cheeses, and most items typically found in a Sicilian supermarket. For my interview, I had the pleasure of talking with FoodSicily’s owner, Simone. I was curious to learn about what it is like being a business owner in Sicily, particularly one associated with food, and compare it to what a similar job would be like in the US.

Simone was born and raised in Cefalù, which seems to be a similar trend for many of the resident locals in Cefalù. Unlike in the US, people in Cefalù know most other people in town. Because of this, it is clear that family and friends are pinnacle to their everyday life. With this in mind, I was curious to know how involved Simone’s family is in his business. As it turns out, his father works in the store with him. In the US, it is not uncommon for there to be family run business, but usually it is passed down from generation to generation. In Simone’s case it was not his father who started the business. Simone started it and his father simply helps him out. I believe there is value in the fact that his father, despite his previous disposition, helps out his son in his endeavors.

Simone’s everyday life is quite different than that of business owners in the US. He spends the majority of his day working, and his particular role is to oversee his employees and understand his customers’ needs and wants. In his free time, which is almost nonexistent, Simone spends it at home relaxing, and depending on the results of the mayor election, may devote some of his time to politics. The biggest difference between Simone’s job and a typical business owner in the US is the fact that he must spend most of his time at the store. He told me that if he doesn’t, some of his employees may slack off, or even steal. A business owner in the US generally provides the capital to fund the start up, and works hard behind the scenes, but their presence on a day-to-day basis is not as necessary. I have noticed this not only at FoodSicily, but at many of the restaurants and stores in Cefalù. The owners are often in the store, and sometimes are the only worker in the store.

According to Simone, the hardest part of his job is the daily food preparation in order to make sure his customers are happy. Something that differs between a market in the US and one in Cefalù is how dependent business is on tourism. Since tourists make up much of Simone’s customer base, it is a constant challenge for him to understand the demand for certain good from people from all parts of the globes. The constantly changing goods and products are evidenced by the easily changeable digital price tags. I have never seen price tags like this in the US. He is unable to simply provide goods that Sicilian people want. This is not nearly as big of an issue in the US. However, the payoff of this hard work is also Simone’s favorite part of his job. He loves to market the various items, and seeing what he thinks will sell actually sell, is extremely rewarding.

One thing that Simone has that is similar to a US business owner is his ambition. When I asked where he sees himself in the future, he said that he would like to open many more businesses, and eventually open up something similar to a casino. This seems like the same mentality of a US venture capitalist.

In conclusion, being a business owner in Sicily or a business owner in the US are both hard work, but are very different. They are likely both very busy, as seen by the fact that Simone had about 5 different people call him throughout our conversation. There are two major differences. The first is the fact that Simone must spend almost all if his time physically running the store, as he is unable to completely trust his employees to do things the way he would and also not steal. The second major difference is the customer base, as tourism drives Simone’s business, unlike in the US. This makes months like September and October very difficult.

It was an eye-opening experience to learn about tourism from the other side, as there is much more that goes into it than meets the eye. While we have learned a lot about the history of Sicily, modern day Sicily thrives on tourism. Talking with Simone helped me understand just how important tourism is to Sicily.

Interview Audio