Antonio has been working by his mother Lilly’s side supporting the pasta business since he was just 11 years old. He expanded his culinary knowledge beyond the pasta universe in attending Cambridge Culinary Institute, but always knew his true calling was building his family’s legacy and bringing value to Lilly’s dedicated customers.

Under Antonio’s leadership, the company has pursued some of its boldest new avenues. In 1999, Antonio began an ambitious project: a multi-unit, quick-serve franchise featuring his family’s famous pasta and a “build-your-own” ordering process. He opened seven successful Boston locations, but soon sold his franchise to pivot back to the community that built Lilly’s backbone: foodservice operators.

In 2010, Antonio piloted a major step that would reshape the company for years to come: they forayed into broadline distribution, fueling a wave of exponential growth.

The harder Lilly works on building the company’s heart, the harder Antonio pushes to expand it; his adulthood has consisted of countless unbroken years on the road building sales, making deliveries, and doing just about anything else that needs to be done. He has always had his eyes set on the future, and since finally adopting ownership of the company in 2017, he has been determined to grow Lilly’s into a national brand.

Antonio’s passion is truly infectious; nothing brings him joy like sharing his family’s hard work and seeing customers and partners across the country find success with Lilly’s pasta. To him, his role has never been about sales and numbers – it’s about building relationships and sharing a dream with other passionate people by doing anything you can to support them.