From Brooklyn to Disney, Melanie Landano’s career saga has taken a number of interesting twists and turns. Next for Landano is changing the way consumers and foodservice operators think of food trucks.
“I’m originally from Brooklyn and I worked at the Nelly Bly Amusement Park every summer as a teenager,” Landano explained. “I began as an 11-year-old and by the time I was 20, I had become the General Manager. Foodservice and concessions were of course a big part of the job.”
Good fortune then guided the next chapter in Melanie Landano’s career. “I spent one of my college semesters in Rome studying abroad. My dream job after working at a local amusement park for so long was to work for Disney. While in Italy, I was recruited to work at Walt Disney World at Epcot in Florida. They were looking for 7 American students to live and learn with internationals and serve as American ambassadors at Epcot. They saw my experience in the amusement industry and it was a perfect first for their program.”
Landano’s stint at Disney was in fact highlighted by being presented with the company’s Partner’s in Excellence Award. “The opportunity at Disney truly was the equivalent of a master’s degree in hospitality. It touched on every aspect from customer service to culinary. It began as a six-month internship and morphed into six amazing years,” Landano explained.
Due to personal issues, she returned to New York City. She was recruited into a new industry with Bally Fitness. She found success in this new industry within her 12 years. She went from “Club Manager to managing 21 clubs” and then to the executive suite as Director of Marketing.
Landano’s love for hospitality lead to her return to the industry. She had worked at the Nelly Bly Park with a classmate named Pat LaFrieda. Yes, the very same Pat LaFrieda whose names has become synonymous with the highest quality beef. The company processes meat for a wide diversity of customers including Shake Shack.
Landano was able to reconnect with the New Jersey based meat maven and he quickly hired her. The timing was perfect as La Frieda was expanding quickly from its wholesale/processing base into its own branded retail/restaurant operations. LaFreida immediately dispatched Landano to open their first ever retail location at the US Open Tennis venue in Flushing, Queens. Her amusement park/Disney experience was a perfect fit and the next year, LaFreida was given a second space at the iconic tennis venue.
Landano was soon, entrusted with a portfolio of LaFreida retail openings from the Pennsy Food Hall at Madison Square Garden to a CitiField in Queens location and then the TimeOut Marketplace in Dumbo, New York.
When Covid-19 hit, she became a free agent. She was introduced to furniture design impresario Marc Celli and Mel’s Food truck business was born. Mel’s Butcher Box brings Landano’s two plus decades of experience and the quality of LaFrieda meats.
“Our goal is to create a restaurant level experience like you would get at a stand-alone restaurant,” Landano noted. Her creative twist also includes a marketing plan that combines both a venue where you can eat a hamburger and buy meat at the same time. “We also understand how vital today’s technology is. By keeping the truck in the same geographic location, we can build loyal following and use the power of Seamless and DoorDash to drive revenue.”
Landano, who has teamed with the design of Celli, has an eye on developing a franchise model. “We want to build the very best local sources in each community we serve from ingredients to bread and rolls from local bakeries.”
Her creative side has also found its way into Mel’s Butcher Box marketing. “We even see an opportunity to work with local chefs that we can collaborate with. We are planning on a taco pop up night with one local chef and a surf and turf with another local chef,” Landano concluded.
Landano is currently operating in a pair of Bergen County communities with great initial fanfare. With her passion for the industry and hospitality, stay tuned for what will surely be one of the nation’s most talked about foodservice success stories.
To learn more about Mel’s Butcher Box visit them on Facebook or follow them on Instagram.
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