Vincent Mandola Family Adds 2nd Fast-casual Location

Two years after one of Houston's most famous restaurant families entered the growing fast-casual dining market with a new concept of their own called Pronto Cucinino, they have announced the planned opening of a second location. This will be the fifth restaurant in their clan and will open in the Vanderbilt Shopping Center on West Holcombe Blvd near Buffalo Speedway.
This second Pronto Cucinino, located at 3191 West Holcombe Blvd. is scheduled to open in early June. The 3,600 square-foot space was formerly occupied by a Stone Mill Bakery and a Nextel phone store. Like the original Pronto at 1401 Montrose, the fast-casual concept is a partnership between Vincent and Mary Mandola and their two daughters, Vinceanne Mandola Green and Mary Dana Corbett. As she has with all the Mandola restaurants, Mary Mandola will design the interior.
The dining spot will have the same menu as the original, offering many of the most popular dishes from the Mandola's other three full-service restaurants but without the formality. Diners will order appetizers, salads and entrees at a counter and then waiters will bring the food to the table.
For years, regulars at Nino's, Vincent's and Grappino's have known many of their favorite dishes - particularly an acclaimed wood-roasted rotisserie chicken - could be ordered to pick up and take home, though the restaurants rarely advertised it. That side of the business has grown so much, however, that Vincent and his family began looking at ways to answer to that barely-tapped market. Following the fast-casual trend that has swept the food industry in the last several years, Pronto Cucinino was born.
Pronto serves wine and beer and offer a wide assortment of pastas, pizzas and other Italian dishes popular at the other restaurants. There also will be an assortment of salads to choose from as well as desserts. The spot will have ample seating both indoors and outside, with an extended patio to be added at a later date. It will be open seven days a week.
The trio of original Mandola restaurants are located near downtown between La Rue and Ebarhand Street on West Dallas. One of the most unique restaurant compounds in the city, Nino's Vincent's and Grappino's are separated by brick walkways, garden trellises, gardens and fountains. The beautifully designed gardens around the patio at Grappino's won the landscaper a number of national awards. In warmer months, gelato, the Italian ice cream, is sold from a cart in the courtyard between Nino's and Vincent's.
Since purchasing an early 20th century grocery and drygoods store and converting it into Nino's in 1977, the family has patiently purchased all but a few lots on this large city block, allowing for plentiful parking and what feels like a downtown park.
Grappino's, a grappa bar offering appetizer-sized portions of Italian food and staying open for late night crowds, was the last of the restaurants to be built. Besides being a live music venue, the building also houses a large private party room and the commissary for the other restaurants.
For more information on Pronto Cucinino, visit the website at www.pronto-2-go.com