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Oozing energy, creativity, and an unbridled culinary passion for freshly made, hand-crafted Italian cuisine, Chef João “Juca” Oliveira recently reached a storied business achievement – his 30th anniversary as a successful South Florida restauranteur. It’s been quite a fascinating culinary and business journey.
In 1994, Oliveira opened Tutto Pasta in the Brickell Roads neighborhood, on Miami’s historic Coral Way. From pear and Gorgonzola ravioli served in an Alfredo sauce to the short rib ragu poured over fresh Pappardelle, every dish served at this restaurant, located at 1751 SW 3rd Ave., reflects Oliveira’s culinary passion.
The word “tutto” means “everything” in Italian, so it’s an apt way to say something for everyone. First, the restaurant serves cuisine from all parts of Italy. That said, Italian cuisine is often Americanized in many U.S. homes and restaurants, so “it tends to be a little heavier than what we prepare,” Oliveira stresses. “There’s a lightness here in Tutto Pasta. Italian food is all about the ingredients, so we let the ingredients speak for themselves.”
The chef and his culinary team also strive to use authentic recipes to create traditional Italian favorites and aren’t afraid to create inventive dishes. Most notably, all sauces, all dressings, all pasta, and all doughs (allowed to rise naturally for a light, airy texture) are freshly made every day.
In fact, the chef’s “factory” for making that fresh pasta is also located right next door to the Tutto Pasta restaurant. It’s a family affair, as Oliveira’s two adult sons, 22-year-old Luciano and Fabricio, 24, manage the pasta factory’s operation. In fact, many top tri-county restaurants buy fresh pasta from the factory daily to use for their own menus.
Journey to Business Success
Chef Oliveira’s international culinary journey to business success began in 1987. Having grown up in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Oliveira headed to New York City as an 18-year-old to get a job in the restaurant business. Remarkably, his start in the business was as a dishwasher at Bice Restaurant, one of New York’s busiest restaurants, where he eagerly watched, listened, and learned. He actually learned to speak Italian before he learned English, thanks to talking with Bice’s Italian chefs from Milan.
By age 22, Oliveira had become Bice’s executive chef in New York, responsible for serving 1,000 meals a day. He was always the youngest of dozens of culinary staffers and chefs working there – and yet he was the guy in charge. Having honed his skills in that fast-paced kitchen environment his wife Luissell Brito, who serves with the company in an administrative role, today describes her husband as a “humble, quiet guy – and a “doer!”
There’s also a lot more to being an executive chef than just cooking, Oliveira acknowledges. “One needs to know how to price, how to purchase, how to create menus, how to manage people, and so on.” Soon he was tapped by Bice’s corporate owners to open new restaurants in Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, Fla.
At the age of 24, he moved to South Florida and became executive chef of South Beach’s Tre Merli, a trendy South Beach hot spot where he hobnobbed with and created dinner experiences for such celebrities as Mickey Rourke, Eddie Murphy, Prince, Madonna, and others.
Go West Young Man
Looking back, Oliveira tells us that when he first envisioned starting a restaurant on the Miami mainland, in the Brickell district, the restaurant scene there was by no means what it is today – with many culinary hot spots around the area. Instead, many restaurants were in South Beach or Coral Gables, with some also in Coconut Grove.
But after noticing that there was no traditional Italian restaurant in his new Brickell neighborhood, “I had a vision,” Oliveira stresses. So, he dove full speed into the start-up process. Friends were critical at first, , telling him, “You’re not going to make it here” – pointing to the location near and under an I-95 highway overpass. “There’s nothing here.”
But the chef adamantly told himself, “I will make it.” He also knew that Brickell’s offices and banks full of hungry lunch-time diners were just four blocks away, as was a prime Brickell residential area. So, he told himself, “Why not?” So, Tutto Pasta opened its doors.
Two months after the restaurant’s opening, The Miami Herald sent a food critic to the restaurant. The resultant article said that Tutto Pasta had the best Italian food in Miami-Dade County. After that review appeared, “the next morning, right before opening, there was a line to get into the restaurant,” Oliveira said. “I couldn’t believe it. People from Fort Lauderdale even came down here.” This was shaping up to be just the business development opportunity he was waiting for.
The Ultimate Secret Sauce
Armed with a “can do” attitude, strong culinary focus, and extensive experience on the business side of restaurant operations, Oliveira moved forward with continuing to grow his family-friendly restaurant. Besides the food, the ultimate “secret sauce” was the restaurant’s ability to connect with the community. Today, diners and the restaurant’s employees view each other as family. And over three decades, it’s has surely proven a recipe for business success.
Tutto Pasta is known to locals as a warm-and-friendly trattoria embedded within the Brickell community. “There’s nothing that I enjoy more than seeing familiar faces and preparing our diners’ favorite dishes,” says Oliveira. “Great food also has the power to bring people together and strengthen community bonds,” says the chef. Committed to the neighborhood, the restaurant also regularly participates in local events, fundraisers, and initiatives that support Brickell and the greater Miami area.
Happy Birthday, Tutto!
On November 12, 2024, many loyal diners came together to help Oliveira and his wife and employees celebrate Tutto Pasta’s 30th anniversary. Showing up for a reservation-only event for “regulars,” it turnout out that many diners had actually been young children when their parents brought them to dine at the restaurant three decades ago.
“I cooked polenta for those babies,” Chef Oliveira quips. “Now they’re all grown up and starting families of their own.” So, it warmed his heart that many brought along their own young children to the anniversary event. One fun factoid? On this day, the restaurant had fun by returning to its 1994 menu – at 1994 prices!
Success can often be fleeting for many restaurant start-ups. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that just 34.6 percent of new restaurants are still in business at the 10-year mark. Separately, one Ohio University Study found that 60 percent of restaurants fail in their first year of operations, and 80 percent of those remaining don’t survive beyond the five-year mark.
Ahead of the Curve
But while Tutto Pasta is ahead of the curve, it’s even more impressive when considering that it’s not Chef Oliveira’s only long-time restaurant success. Opened in 1998, a sister brand, Tutto Pizza, at 1763 SW 3rd Ave., specializes in delicious, freshly made pizzas. They’re baked to perfection in a wood-fired oven imported from Italy. Thanks to the oven, they offer a signature smoky flavor and a perfectly crispy crust. While each restaurant has a fixed menu, there are also daily specials, many with Latin American influences. So, diners at Tutto Pizza might order a traditional Margherita pizza or something a bit different such as a Portuguese pizza. But the Tutto Pizza restaurant menu offers far more than just pizza. Diners might order filet mignon carpaccio, a range of paninis including a Cuban panini (the restaurant’s take on a Cuban sandwich but with an Italian flair), tasty home-made soups, a plethora of fresh salad choices, and yummy desserts.
But there’s more! Eleven years ago, Oliveira’s third restaurant, Tutto Pizza & Pasta, opened in the Galleria Mall, at 328 Crandon Blvd Ste 111, in Key Biscayne, Fla. With the opening of this third Italian eatery, let’s just say that Oliveira’s grandfather, who was born in Italy, surely would have been proud. The chef never knew his grandfather as he died before Oliveira was born, but certainly, the Italian influences, heritage and pure passion for the food have flowed strongly across the generations.
Proof of that? “I can eat pasta every day,” the chef jokes. Plus, he’s traveled to Italy and has spent significant time working with chefs hailing from Bologna, Genoa, and other Italian destinations. And, very attuned to the importance of going beyond what’s expected, he adds that “we’re creating new things all the time.”
Certainly, 30 years in business is an outstanding achievement in the restaurant business. “I’ve been very lucky,” Oliveira stresses. “Thirty years – I can’t believe it. It seems like yesterday. Time went by so fast.” He credits his employee team members, some of whom have worked for the restaurants for 20 or more years, with helping build the restaurants’ stellar reputations and repeat business.
In fact, some loyal diners come back two or even three times a week to dine. Each day, when he wakes up, Oliveira says he knows that “we still have the Miami community supporting us,” and that is his greatest reward. “I love it. After 35 years in the restaurant business, I still enjoy every single day.”
Knowing that restaurants chains and corporate-focused restaurants have grown significantly in the past few decades, Oliveira hopes that society continues to appreciate “small places and family-owned restaurants.”
Walking along a street or in a nearby business during his day-to-day activities, not surprisingly, he’s often recognized by diners. Like a much-loved family member, some may call him by his nickname, Juca. But others just shout out, “Tutto!” And that’s A-okay, he says, taking pride in those community relationships that have helped his business get to the 30-year mark, with more years yet to come.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For general information, contact: Luissell M. Brito via her cell phone at 786-417-4832.
TUTTO PASTA
Address: 1751 SW 3rd Ave, Miami, FL 33129
Phone: (305) 857-0709
Menu: tuttopasta.com
HOURS:
- Monday: 11 AM–10:30 PM
- Tuesday: 11 AM–10:30 PM
- Wednesday: 11 AM–10:30 PM
- Thursday: 11 AM–10:30 PM
- Friday: 11 AM–11 PM
- Saturday: 11 AM–11 PM
- Sunday: Closed
TUTTO PIZZA
Address: 1763 SW 3rd Ave, Miami, FL 33129
Phone: (305) 858-0909
Menu: www.tuttopizza.com
HOURS:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Wednesday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Thursday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Friday: 11:30 AM–11 PM
- Saturday: 11:30 AM–11 PM
- Sunday: 12–10:30 PM
TUTTO PIZZA & PASTA
Address: The Galleria Shopping Center, 328 Crandon Blvd #111, Key Biscayne, FL 33149
Phone: (305) 361-2224
Menu: tuttopizzapasta.com
HOURS:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Wednesday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Thursday: 11:30 AM–10:30 PM
- Friday: 11:30 AM–11 PM
- Saturday: 11:30 AM–11 PM
- Sunday: 11:30AM-10:30PM
