There are some things in life that the universe just nudges us toward. Almost as if they are things we are supposed to do. As a realtor, I have seen people wait, or lose offer wars on houses, only to end up getting the one they seemingly were supposed to have. It doesn’t have to be something we are looking for, it can even be something that feels risky, but when the universe pushes, things just seem to happen. Such seems to be the case for local restaurateur Dino Maniaci who not only owns WOOFS! bar on King Street, but also D’Vino, the Italian restaurant next door. And now he is busy opening a deli called Dinotto, which is the part of the puzzle that just seems to be kismet.

Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma, I believe that Dino is a man who is meant to open this deli. While he demurs about his age, and already having two businesses to run, everything else about it seems to line up too perfectly. And honestly, the two other businesses seem to align and symbiotically enrich Dinotto.

Dino says Dinotto is a place that has been missing from downtown since Fraboni’s closed their downtown location prior to Covid. He describes it as a classic Italian deli where folks can pick up sandwiches and typical deli items, but also some take-and-bake, as well as some warm food for lunch or dinner to go. Dino is careful to clarify that the menu at Dinotto is different from the menu at D’Vino, but there is also significant overlap. Which is part of the magic.

When Dino showed me the new space, we entered through D’Vino, and as we walked back into the kitchen, he took about three steps in and planted his foot on the floor “This is where the old kitchen ended” he told me. Full disclosure: I have never worked in a commercial kitchen even though I am friends with a number of chefs and write about restaurants with some regularity. The kitchen Dino was describing was absurdly, perhaps obscenely, small. The hand-wash stations, the dish machine, the plating station and a stand up cooler comprised well over half of the floor space. Even by commercial kitchen standards this was a tight fit, and Dino had been making excellent food out of the space for three or more years (D’Vino’s initial launch was in February of 2020).

So when the tiny space behind D’Vino became available, the opportunity to expand D’Vino’s kitchen was obvious. AND, because of the shape of the block, there was also an opportunity for a second storefront. But it isn’t JUST the opportunity to expand the size of D’Vino’s kitchen, allowing an entirely new business to flourish, and opening up the possibility for catering. There is a deeper reason these pieces all fit together.

When I spoke with Dino, I was struck by his connection to his heritage, and his family. As we walked through the space, he pointed out the artwork on the walls, including a photo from maybe a hundred years ago blown up and turned into giant custom wallpaper. Dino described the shop in the photo as a local deli. “This was my grandfather’s place,” he said. “This might be my dad,” pointing to the grainy image of a toddler in the photo. “No one remembers the name of the shop, but it had my grandfather’s name on the door. Last week, I put my name on this door.”

Go see Dino at his new place, recently opened at 106 S. Webster Street in Madison. Tell him the universe sent you.