Biagio Tiano, right, has provided Italian food and pizzas to western Rockingham County for the past 35 years.
Angelo Tiano spins pizza dough in the tradition of his Italian family.
Family built the Tiano family business, said Biagio, center, with son, Angelo, and daughter, Pam.
At 74, Biagio Tiano said he’s looking forward to marking another milestone anniversary in 10 more years.
MADISON — “I think togetherness is a very important ingredient to family life,” the late former First Lady Barbara Bush once said.
Marked by 35 years of such togetherness, Rockingham County’s Tiano family quietly acknowledged their restaurant’s anniversary on Jan. 14.
Instead of a grand celebration to mark the occasion at Tiano’s Pizza, the day was spent as usual, taking orders, flipping burgers and steaks on the grill, tossing dough and pulling hot pizzas from the oven at the cozy Italian restaurant.
It wasn’t that Biagio Tiano, the founder of Tiano’s, didn’t deem the milestone worthy of celebration, but instead his 74-year-old business mind, still fueled with hard work and resilience, already had him dreaming about what 40 years of “togetherness” will be like to celebrate.
His visionary mindset set the Tiano family on course to realize their American dream.
As far back as he can remember, Biagio has lived by the premise: “Family is everything.” As the youngest of the nine children, his earliest memories were of time spent in the kitchen at his mother’s and grandmother’s feet.
Located just outside of Naples in the quaint Italian village of Bacoli, it was expected that Biagio and his siblings would continue in the work of their family’s successful and long-standing farm and winery.
Biagio, though, had other plans in mind.
An ambitious and extremely hard-working young man, Biagio said he knew early on he would take a different path. So, he married his childhood sweetheart, Teresa. Soon after came their daughter, Palmira “Pam,” and 12 months later, son, Angelo.
From builder to restauranteur
Biagio spent his early career as a highly successful builder, traveling sometimes for months at a time on building projects across Europe. But the lifestyle was very stressful on the family. With Teresa’s encouragement, he took a year’s leave of absence and traveled to the U.S. to stay with an uncle in Camp Hill, Pa., while deciding what would be best for his family.
On June 9, 1980, Biagio, Teresa, Pam, 9, and Angel, 8, set foot on American soil for the first time. With no knowledge of the English language, Pam and Angelo spent their summer at their cousins’ neighborhood pool, not bothering to learn English as they assumed they would be returning to Italy at summer’s end.
Pam remembers vividly the day in late August of 1980 that her father announced that they would be staying in the states with the dreams of opening a family run Italian restaurant. While her father’s goal was not only to make a name for himself and prove to his own father and family back home that he could be successful, Biagio more importantly wanted his family to be together.
The move to Eden, then Madison-Mayodan
Opportunity came knocking for Biagio and his family in 1981 when the family learned of a new mall opening in Eden, N.C. Along with extended family, the Tianos moved to Eden and rented a space at the mall and named their new restaurant Two Guys Pizza after a restaurant they had operated in Pennsylvania.
However, the cost of rent rose and some family members returned to the North and Biagio closed the restaurant’s doors at the mall after five years. He next partnered in a restaurant venture in Collinsville, Va. The restaurant there was so successful that within a year, Tiano decided to open his first solo restaurant.
With his shrewd business acumen, he realized that Madison-Mayodan, which at the time had very few restaurant choices, would be the perfect setting. Furthermore, the small towns were closer to the Tiano’s home in Eden and would allow his family to be together. On Jan. 14, 1987, the family patriarch’s dream was realized, and the doors to Tianos opened at 615 Burton Street in Madison.
The first years were especially tough on the Tiano family. While Teresa focused on fine-tuning her tomato sauce and pizza crust recipes and helping out at the restaurant when she could, Biagio juggled manning the business while actively supporting the sports and afterschool activities of Pam and Angelo during their high school years.
All in the family
As teenagers, Angelo and Pam joined to work in the restaurant. While the language was still somewhat of a barrier for the family, they said they were thankful to be in a small community that showed kindness and patience as the Tianos grew in their fluency, taking restaurant orders and making conversation.
After all, the family was a curiosity to the two towns. In 1987, there were very few immigrants in the community. Customers expressed interest in the family’s Italian culture and heritage, said Pam. And they were especially interested in the Italian words the family shouted with great fervor as pizzas were tossed.
Over the years, through hard work, the restaurant thrived and quickly became a local favorite. Among its treasured patrons, the county’s textile titan, the late Dalton McMichael, and his son, Mac.
Biagio said he was extremely grateful for their support, as well as the backing of all of his customers.
For their loyalty enabled him to provide for family members in need back in Bacoli, and share his success with family members who visited North Carolina from Italy.
Still at it
The Tiano family’s hard work is undeniable. It is normal for each member to work a seven-day week, often clocking 70-80 hours.
The early years were difficult, Pam said, but they persevered as a family and while their passions at times created strong disagreements, they always seemed to work it out.
Now, 35 years later, the mutual love and support between the family and their local customers is part of the very fabric of the community.
Most importantly, the Tianos consider their customers part of their family. These days, Biagio takes an occasional day off, but his passion for his family business has not waned in the least, his daughter said.
“While things have changed, and daddy is not here every day, not a day goes by that my brother and I aren’t asked, ‘Where is your dad?’ or ‘We sure miss seeing your daddy.’
Wisdom and family
With four grandchildren who are active young adults, Biagio can be seen regularly at their sporting events and is supportive of their dreams.
“He enjoys the simple pleasures of life—the little things make him happy,’’ Pam said. “He often says: “Be happy for what you have, and be thankful you are here.’’
“Family is everything in life,’’ Biagio said. “It doesn’t matter how much money you have, nothing compares to the love of your family.”
And it is with this remarkable mindset that Biagio looks to the future. While Pam and Angelo plan to operate the restaurant for years to come, the long term future of the business and the grandchildren is uncertain. And that is more than okay, Biagio said. After all, his hard work and vision paved the way for them to realize their own American dreams.
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