A first impression is worth so much...
After months of waiting for a local Italian restaurant to open in the site of the old Rigatony's and Mardenaley's, we were eager to check out Cucina Di Venti on its second night in business. The building was absolutely spruced up both inside and out.
It was apparent within a couple minutes of our arrival that the owners have never operated a restaurant -- with clues such as several un-bussed tables and improperly set tables with grimy salt and pepper shakers (on day two of operation! day two!).
They did a few things that made me wonder if they've ever BEEN to a restaurant, such as handing out the (nearly indecipherable who-chose-this-font) menus in the lobby area and making us carry them as we followed the hostess who wandered through several half-full rooms and asked if we could see a place to sit...in a white-table-cloth, linen-napkin restaurant...one that charges North Scottsdale prices...it was a bit of a shock.
On a positive note, the food was fine. I had to send my order to back to the kitchen because my "no cheese" request wasn't followed, but the cappellini pomodoro was quite good. Unfortunately my partner couldn't wait for my new plate to arrive because his lasagna wasn't hot enough to endure a delay. They were kind enough to comp us dessert because of the mistake, though the tiramisu arrived just after I started the pasta and was really just "eh".
The staff was very friendly and clearly trying hard. Our server will probably be a good one when she's had more than two days' experience. I enjoyed having her at our table, though moreso because it was a comedy of errors rather than an excellent customer service experience.
I'd like to see this restaurant survive. The neighborhood needs something in that location and an Italian place is most welcome. However, if they hope to survive 6 months they'll need to make better first impressions. My suggestion is that the owners hire a couple of career-waitress crones from a local diner who know basic restaurant operations and will whip the staff into line (and tell the owners what they need to hear). Then they should lower their prices to align with their customer demographic.
We'll come back in a couple of months to see if they've learned some lessons. Until then, I'll keep my fingers crossed.