Interview: Sasha Muniak, Founder of MANGIA in NYC

Restaurateur, Sasha Muniak once realized that professionals working in the Midtown area had limited choices of dining option, either upscale restaurants, or coffee shops and diners. He envisioned an appealing, well-priced alternative with simple, rustic Italian fare that would include sandwiches, salads, pastries and more all using the finest ingredients. Muniak wanted to create a place where craftsman bake all night to offer a cornucopia of the freshest breakfast items and where a small, passionate culinary team arrives before dawn to meticulously prep food in time for the city's lunch rush. The first-ever Mangia opened in 1981 on 56th Street to great acclaim and the rest is history.

Muniak was born in Poland and spent years studying violin at Cracow's premier music conservatory. He emigrated to the United States with dreams of pursuing his career as a violinist, but his other lifelong passion, delicious food took precedence. To develop Mangia, he hired a full-time chef and pastry chef, a revolutionary move at the time for this tier of eatery. Over the years, Muniak grew the Mangia brand to several locations in Manhattan as well as launched concepts in Seoul and Istanbul, which were adapted to local tastes and cultures. In New York, his entrepreneurial drive culminated in the creation of two bustling Italian restaurants in the West Village, Gusto Ristorante e Bar Americano and Centro Vinoteca.

Sasha's commitment to his craft and unquenchable desire to raise the bar on all aspects of the Mangia experience continues to this day. Mangia is his "baby" and he and his team focus on making the brand unequivocally relevant and up to date without sacrificing the core values that have made Mangia a 35-year New York success story.

In his down time, Muniak loves to travel, exploring food markets, new restaurants and cuisines worldwide. He is also a fitness aficionado who particulary enjoys CrossFit training.

Broadwayworld.com had the pleasure of interviewing Sasha Muniak about his background, career and Mangia.

When did you first become interested in fine foods?

Since I was very young, I was always interested in how food affects your being, your mood and your ability to function at your peak. I found out that if I eat certain things, I would feel stronger or weaker. It was this discovery that effected my well-being and that urged me to open the first Mangia in 1981.

Do you have any important mentors in your career?

Yes, I do. My first mentor was my violin teacher. He was an alpinist, a spiritual man; climbing mountains for leisure and looking at life from a different perspective. I was taught to be discipline rom a very young age and patient for the fine tuning of things in life. He used to say, "I can tackle any task in life. When I climb mountains, I am closer to God. So, I am not teaching you just how to play the violin but I am teaching you mathematics in life."

How do guests inspire the mission at Mangia?

We have been nourishing New Yorkers for 35 years. Mangia transformed the New York lunch scene by being one of the first to offer fresh, artisanal ingredients and a farm-to-table menu comprised of rustic, delicious Italian fare, which is exactly what our clients across the City were looking for. Today, we continue with the same passion for gourmet food, artfully presented, by preserving our beloved Mangia classics as well as creating exciting, new seasonal recipes inspired by what our guests would love to eat at the office for lunch, at home for dinner or when they want to cater an event for their clients and friends.

Tell us a little about the Mangia team

Our team is coming from different ethnicities, backgrounds and cultures and they all bring along different ideas, recipes and traditionally cultivated aromas from Greece, Spain, France, Italy and so on. This diversity in tastes and in business is what makes Mangia! For instance, our Chef Roberto is from Padova, our chef Ferran from Catalunya, our La Colombe baristas from Sicily, our cooks from Oaxaca, Mexico!

For the future?

Our future plans are to never stop exploring ways to evolve as a team and as a business. We travel constantly in search of farm-to-table fresh produce, supporting sustainable small businesses. This is our main secret behind constantly creating new exciting recipes with fresh ingredients and products and for offering unique tastes that you cannot find anywhere else in Manhattan. Therefore, every day at Mangia is always exciting; whether that means meeting new corporate clients, planning catering events, creating new dishes, working with new vendors or expanding our stores and our Mangia product line.

Mangia has 3 locations in New York City. They include Mangia 48 Madison, Mangia 57 57th Street and 23 Flatiron. They also have online ordering and catering available.

For more information and menus, visit their web site at https://mangia.nyc/.

Photo: Courtesy of Mangia

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