Tellers Chophouse Appoints Joseph Scalice As General Manager

Tellers Chophouse (605 Main Street, Islip, NY [631] 277-7070 or www.tellerschophouse.com) announces the appointment of restaurant industry veteran and practiced wine expert, Joseph Scalice, as General Manager.

Once a regular diner at Tellers, and now the restaurant's welcoming face, Scalice is at home where the uppermost standards of excellence are the norm. Scalice's intimate knowledge of service imperatives and the wine industry were most recently reserved for the opening of Manhattan restaurant Solace where he was consulting general manager. Yet his deep insights and skills in operating a restaurant were gained in a career spanning more than two decades, most notably as co-owner of the long-standing Upper East Side restaurant, March, with Executive Chef Wayne Nish.

Tellers is a natural next step for Scalice given his track record in channeling excellence and the opportunity to work with the like-minded Bohlsen family, who also own and operate the highly regarded Prime - An American Kitchen and Bar in Huntington and the successful H2O Seafood Grill in Smithtown.

Scalice first encountered Nish during their shared tenure at the legendary La Colombe d'Or. In 1990 they opened March. Scalice managed the space but also served as the New American restaurant's beverage and service director earning the restaurant some of the industry's most esteemed accolades: a Michelin star; the Swiss Vintner's Association Restaurant of the Year Award; a James Beard Foundation nomination for Outstanding Wine Service; and the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 14 consecutive years.

Scalice's industry profile includes teaching hospitality and restaurant management courses at New York University and the Institute of Culinary Education and serving as a competition judge for Business Traveler's Annual Cellars in the Sky and Food & Wine's Classic. He has been vice president of the Sommelier Society of America for the eastern region, launched his own line of sherry into America, and had his wine, sake and sherry pairings acknowledged by Rosario Safina and Judith Sutton in their book Truffles: Ultimate Luxury Everyday Pleasure.

A Long Island native, Scalice worked his way through country clubs and restaurants on the North Shore absorbing old-world service standards at a three-star level. His love of the stage ushered him through four years of acting classes, drama and set design at Long Island University/C.W. Post College, and would prepare him for the inherent theatrics of hospitality. Later he attended Baruch University for his graduate degree in Industrial Marketing, preparing him for the business of restaurants.

With Scalice on board at Tellers, those seeking an exceptional American chophouse experience - a menu of the finest meats and local seafood, a 10,000-bottle and 1,000-label wine cellar, and a dining room said to be "one of the most strikingly beautiful" on Long Island by The New York Times' Joanne Starkey - will continue to derive satisfaction.