SMALL BUSINESS | Dave Padula Owner of four Canfield eateries finds home-cooked success

His interest in the industry began at age 13.
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CANFIELD -- Some early jobs stocking shelves and bagging groceries led to a career in food service for Dave Padula, who owns four businesses in the Starr's Corner area.
His businesses offer quite a variety, including two sit-down restaurants -- Taste Buds and Chudda Bings Ristorante -- as well as a pizzeria and catering and banquet services.
Padula's interest in the industry began at age 13, when he started stocking shelves, bagging groceries and performing other jobs for various delis and bakeries.
By 19, he found himself on the business end of things, running a cheese shop in New Castle, Pa. Two years later, Padula became a meat cutter for the former Fisher Fazio Foods Co.
Afterward, Padula worked for 12 years as a deli and bakery supervisor for Kuhn's Market in Pittsburgh. He also served as a buyer for various restaurants and other eateries.
Later, Padula and a friend went on a monthlong road trip and visited Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C. That trip became a turning point in his life, Padula said.
"The friend talked me into opening my own business," he recalled.
Padula took his friend's advice and starting in the early 1990s, he opened a series of eateries -- some of which he named after family members.
First, he opened Taste Buds in 1991 on U.S. Route 224 near Mill Creek Park in Boardman. He later moved the business to its current location. In addition to serving as a sit-down restaurant, Taste Buds delivers a variety of desserts, dinners and 30 to 35 types of pasta salads to businesses within an 80-mile radius, Padula said.
Various clientele
His clientele includes corporate people, those coming home from a hospital stay, hospital patients and others. Padula's restaurant also has delivered to some prominent people who have had some connection to Taste Buds.
He sent several eggplant dishes to Philadelphia Mayor John Street and various dishes to some cast members of the TV show "The Sopranos
About three years ago, Padula started Chudda Bings, an Italian restaurant he named after his father, James "Chudda" Padula. Padula said he grew up in an environment that included large family gatherings and that he set out to create a restaurant that would remind customers of family.
"Everybody used to sit and eat together and today they don't do that," he lamented. "People see this and they want to go home to grandma's house."
Restaurant's features
Chudda Bings specializes in serving all fresh foods, Padula stressed, and has several small, hidden alcoves for customers who favor a private and romantic setting. Padula said he designed the facade to resemble a type of building common in Italy.
Padula opened Gallery Taste Buds Catering eight years ago to serve various civic organizations, as well as bridal shower, rehearsal dinner and bus trip parties. Many smaller groups have difficulty securing a hall and Gallery is set up for groups of 55 people or fewer, he noted.
Nico's LaPizzeria, which Padula started two years ago, is named for his 12-year-old son, Nico. That business specializes in making its own ravioli, angel hair and numerous other pastas, as well as pepper-and-egg sandwiches, he said.
Padula said that, despite some difficulty, he was able to secure a liquor license for his businesses.
He added that he is working to improve his restaurants because he wants them to be even more authentic. He said that he has received more than 500 letters from customers and that he appreciates their comments and learns from their feedback.