When a higher calling spoke to business executive Mark Barak, he was all ears. Barak took a leap of faith and traded the corporate sector for a journey into the culinary realm. His intuition paid off, as he sits atop an empire of over eight establishments – six La Pecora Bianca’s and one Mama Mezze, all in New York City, and his latest gem, Giulietta, with several more on the horizon.
Here we catch up with Barak and discuss Italian beach holidays, afternoon espressos, and an oasis in the middle of Manhattan.
A Conversation with Mark Barak of Giulietta
You started your professional journey in corporate America. What lured you to the restaurant industry?
I had a pretty non-traditional journey to becoming an entrepreneur in the restaurant industry. My first career was in business and finance, and then I moved into the music and sports industries. My last role was working for David Stern at the NBA. At some point in 2012, I just felt a bit burned out and took some time off to travel. I realized that all along I’ve had this calling to be my own boss and to start a business. The only business I thought I could wrap my head around was the restaurant industry. I thought that there was an opportunity to build a brand, a kind of next-generation neighborhood Italian restaurant brand in New York, and so I set out to do that. I worked for a couple of years with a small restaurant group in the West Village, learning the business…