Taylor Oliver and Andrea Solimeo
Pizzeria Gemelle, Ventuno, and Via Mare | Nantucket, MA
SEPTEMBER 2023
Andrea Solimeo grew up between Westchester County, and Calabria. From eating fresh vegetables from his grandmother’s garden in Italy to crushing deli sandwiches in New York, Solimeo was fascinated with food by the time he was a teenager. His first industry job was slinging pizzas in Rye, New York, but all he wanted to do was cook in Italy. Armed with dual citizenship, Solimeo would spend nine months in Italy and three summer months on Nantucket. He did four cycles at Il Sole in Bologna, a year at Le Calandre, then another four year stint under Massimo Bottura at the three-Michelin starred Osteria Francescana. In 2012, Solimeo was made chef de cuisine of Ventuno on Nantucket, where he met sommelier, general manager, and future business partner, Taylor Oliver.
Oliver graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2009, and was convinced by a friend to spend a season on Nantucket. He then moved to Boston and ended up working for Rising Stars alum Will Gilson at Garden at the Cellar. The next season, he returned to Nantucket at Rising Star alum Gabriel Frasca’s Straight Wharf as a server. In 2011, Oliver helped Frasca open Ventuno, working as a sommelier and server in both spaces. In 2012, he was made general manager, building a solid relationship with Solimeo. The two continued to run the show at Ventuno until 2016, when the ownership group offered to sell them the business.
They took over the fine dining Italian restaurant, and in 2019 opened Pizzeria Gemelle, a Neapolitan-style pizzeria that focuses on local, farm-fresh ingredients. They were also offered the restaurant space in the Greydon House, which they transformed into Via Mare, a Venetian-inspired, Nantucket produce and seafood-fueled restaurant. The duo face the challenges of operating on Nantucket head-on by staying flexible, growing as much of their own produce as possible, and most importantly, providing housing and benefits for their staff.
2023 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Stars Award Winners
