Cooking up a passion for business: Recipe for success

Tina Pietrangelo, ’07, says the recipe for success in business is investing in people.

By day, Pietrangelo leads a staff of more than 300 people as the plant manager of the Haworth LPP plant. By night, she co-owns and operates Village Inn Pizza in Holland and Grand Rapids.

“I grew up going to Village Inn Pizza,” Pietrangelo said. “It is just around the corner from my high school. So, when my family and I got the opportunity to purchase the business, it just felt right.”

Pietrangelo, a Business Management graduate, is proud to continue to be a local pillar in the community to continue her work in the city where she grew up.

“My roots are in the restaurant business,” Pietrangelo said.

Pietrangelo’s first job was at Burger King, where she was able to take advantage of its tuition assistance program to launch her educational journey at Davenport.

“My time at Burger King not only matched every dollar I earned with scholarship assistance,” Pietrangelo said. “It also gave me the professional skills that I needed for the workforce. I worked every shift I could to get the most out of my experience.”

Today, Pietrangelo finds great fulfillment in volunteering as a board member for the Boys and Girls Club in Holland. She stresses the importance of education to the children.

“We plan to have nights where the kids come and work to learn customer service skills, money handling and work ethic,” she said. “We are going to teach them the skills they need to be successful on their own. I hope the restaurant acts as a springboard for the youth to realize their dreams, just like I did.”

Visit Village Inn Pizza & Sports Grille

2215 44th St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
or
934 Washington Ave.
Holland, MI 49423

Read each story in this series:

• A restaurant love story featuring Alex Wilkening, ’12
• A family of entrepreneurs featuring Michael Havemeier, ’10
• Creative freedom featuring Dino Duratovic, ’15
• From cherry farmers to winemakers featuring McKenzie Gallagher, MBA, ’12
• The ingredients for success featuring Justin Buiter, ’05
• Labor of love featuring Franco Petrucci, ’91
• Recipe for success featuring Tina Pietrangelo, ’07
• Elevating the community featuring Jason Collett, MBA ’01