Toni Calderone has deep roots in the restaurant industry. Her grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Sicily and opened the first pizza shop in York, Pennsylvania, in 1951. Continuing tradition, her father devised a slightly upscale, express Italian restaurant concept in Florida, where Calderone grew up. By Kelsi Trinidad
Toni Calderone has deep roots in the restaurant industry. Her grandfather immigrated to the U.S. from Sicily and opened the first pizza shop in York, Pennsylvania, in 1951. Continuing tradition, her father devised a slightly upscale, express Italian restaurant concept in Florida, where Calderone grew up.
From a young age, Calderone was immersed in kitchen table conversation revolving around industry operations and growing restaurants. At 14, she took her first job at McDonald’s and gained first-hand experience in the kitchen, learning how a franchise operated successfully. She, too, felt pulled to follow her family’s footsteps.
Determined to succeed in the restaurant industry, Calderone gained fine dining experience, which led her to opening Tutoni’s, a farm-to-table fine dining restaurant, in 2014. At Tutoni’s, she developed her signature pasta noodle that cooks in three minutes, a fraction of the usual 15-minute cooking time.
Calderone knew her innovative pasta noodle would take her far, and it did. She went on to launch a food truck called Rig-a-toni in 2018, which operated through 2023. This enabled Calderone to give her community a dining experience that was sorely missed while selling her signature pasta noodles for families to cook at home.
She expanded her pasta empire to include a fast-casual concept, Presto Fast Italian, and was able to expand quickly by negotiating several discounted leases during the Covid-19 pandemic. Presto became PastaNito in 2024. She poured all of her previous industry experience into the quick-service, build-your-own pasta concept that offers quality, fresh pasta dishes made right in front of customers. Because her proprietary pasta noodles cut down on cooking time, the dishes come out within minutes, pleasing customers and operators alike.
“We’ve nailed down what our products are,” said Calderone. “We have our proprietary pasta, and it’s literally a point and click. I’ve taken out all of the variables of what it means to be a restaurateur and made it so a 15-year-old can execute the concept – no chef required.”
With her extensive experience, tenacity and a dedication to research and development, Calderone has turned PastaNito into a franchise model that operates seamlessly.
Kelsi Trinidad