Since opening in February, Drago’s Kitchen has welcomed the Granby community into its inclusive and creative breakfast and lunch restaurant, located at 7 Mill Pond Drive. The menu spans gluten-free, vegan and allergen-aware options, as well as innovative kid-friendly and family menu choices. Each dish is made from scratch or in conjunction with a local partner, such as Pure Love Gluten Free Bakery of Avon.
The vision for Drago’s Kitchen was born from chef and owner Stefan Drago’s more than 20 years in the culinary industry. Drago, a Granby native, has been cooking since he was 14 years old. As a high school student, he opened Toni Ann’s restaurant on the weekends and later walked next door to New England Pizza to work until closing at that restaurant. Those long weekends, when Drago would work from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., taught him about the rigorous and indefatigable nature of the food industry. However, after high school Drago elected to pursue his competing dream of being a singer-songwriter, and moved to Nashville, Tenn. to attend Belmont University with a focus on music and business. Throughout his college years, Drago realized that music was not his calling and that he was much more drawn to helping the catering crew at the university. “There was no part of the business that I didn’t enjoy,” he notes.
From there, Drago attended what he calls “the school of hard knocks.” He recalls, “I jumped every year. I would jump to a different restaurant, different cuisine to master my trade.” One of his first positions was with a catering company hosting the after-party of the CMT Flameworthy Awards. “My working interview for this job was out on a pasta sauté station, cooking for the likes of Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley.” Drago shares, “It was the coolest thing in the world!”
This array of experience in the culinary world instilled a deep sense of appreciation for high-quality ingredients in Chef Drago. “For me, it’s all about the quality. I will always be successful as long as I take pride in what I put on a plate. And in order to take pride in what I put on the plate, I have to use the best of the ingredients that I could find.” Drago’s Kitchen does not use anything that’s been frozen. “I want to be the best that I can be,” Drago declares. This includes an extreme sense of ownership and attention to customer care. If a customer comes in and doesn’t like the meal they ordered, Drago considers that to be his fault, and an opportunity to make it right.
Drago’s Kitchen operates with a strong sense of family. After working in fast-paced businesses such as Trumbull Kitchen, the Society Room of Hartford and TJ’s Burritos, Drago wanted to build a business that would allow him to spend more time with his family and enjoy life. Quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic, in his words, “was the best thing that could have happened to me, because it made me appreciate life.” Now, Drago’s daughters are a common sight around the restaurant, sometimes helping to seat patrons, and his wife runs the business’s social media and memorabilia sales.
Looking to the future, Drago is excited with the success he’s had and hopes to further expand its catering. Recently, Drago’s Kitchen has catered weddings, backyard family barbecues, and is going to be offering Thanksgiving takeout this year. Catering events offer an invigorating challenge, where Drago sits down with the client to design a unique menu which could range from Indian cuisine to traditional BBQ. “I love creating. I’m a chef!” says Drago.