CANFIELD -- Despite attending Youngstown State University for seven years to major in financial

CANFIELD -- Despite attending Youngstown State University for seven years to major in financial management, Tony Olin's love of cooking won out, and he carved out a career in food service.
Olin's appreciation for food goes back to his teenage years, when he was surrounded by a family that loved to cook.
His grandfather came up with many recipes that relied largely on tomatoes he picked from his garden. One aunt was a frequent guest host on the Marjorie Mariner show, a local cooking program popular in the 1950s, while another aunt baked for charities, churches and community events.
Olin's love of cooking soon grew and he found himself entrusted to help handle Sunday family dinners his mother prepared.
His background and experiences led Olin and his wife, Phyllis, to run their own restaurants, The Emerald Diner in Hubbard, which they opened in April 1995; the former Abbates in North Lima; and Ange Netta's Cafe & amp; Catering, an eatery they started last November in Canfield and named after their two daughters.
The Olins' younger daughter, Angela Olin, works as The Emerald Diner's general manager, and their son-in-law, Jay Hinricks, serves as its head chef. Their other daughter, Annette Hinricks, works as a registered nurse at St. Elizabeth Health Center.
Cooking background
Tony Olin's cooking career began in 1970, when he was stationed at an Army base in Fort Meade, Md., where he worked for a French chef.
When he returned to the area, Olin worked as the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant's chef and later was hired as the general manager at Antone's, where he oversaw the kitchen and other operations at seven Mahoning Valley locations during the late 1980s and early '90s.
Phyllis Olin has also spent much of her life in the restaurant business, beginning as a waitress at age 14. She worked at Antone's for 10 years, during which time she trained and hired many of the employees. For two years, the Olins ran Abbates before they both returned to Antone's.
Phyllis Olin also received training on how to prepare wedding cakes and now uses Ange Netta's four pizza ovens to make numerous homemade desserts for The Emerald Diner and Ange Netta's. The restaurants, which employ 50 to 60, feature made-to-order items and theOlins' own ideas.
Olin said he plans to become a certified executive chef, and he took a one-week advanced culinary course in Napa Valley, Calif., and a three-day class at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Olin's more than 30 years in the business, combined with his course work, should help him achieve that goal, he predicted.