Dana Giardina, Proprietor
Dana Giardina, born in 1959, was raised in the Bay Area.
She grew up surrounded by restaurants owned by her family in Napa, California.
The Depot and the Napa Valley Inn were opened by her Great Aunt Theresa Tamburelli and her Great Grandmother Rosie
Martini. After 80 years, the Depot closed in 2004 with the passing of her Aunt
Angie Momsen.
After Dana graduated
from the Hotel and Restaurant program at the City College of San Francisco, she found her comfort and passion from working
in the restaurant and food service industry. She embarked on a path that would
lead her to one day owning her own restaurant. This path took her to cities such
as Denver and Seattle where she was able to hone her managerial skills working for ARAMARK as a location manager at companies
such as Coors Brewing and Boeing. Most recently, she was the District Manager
for ARAMARK on the West Coast, based in Portland.
Dana has begun to
fulfill her life long dream with the opening of Vitis Enoteca located in the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon. Getting back
to her Italian heritage, Dana envisioned a menu of simple dishes of regional Italian food made well. The food is served on
small plates with the idea of having a large selection of wines by the glass that would allow the customer to match a particular
small plate with a specific wine.
Since Vitis Enoteca
has opened for business in 2004, it has already received rave reviews from City Search Portland, Willamette Week, Northwest
Examiner and the Mercury Portland. Not only does everyone seem impressed
with the food and wine at Vitis, but also the service, value, knowledge, and ambience. All of this has truly been a dream
come true for Dana who is also excited to carry on her family’s vision.