FARMINGTON—Alex Bartolo is Brazilian but his restaurant Bartolo’s is Italian inspired. Bartolo just opened his third location with his wife, Rhia last week in Station Park next to the Cinemark Theaters. Bartolo’s journey to get where he is has had its ups and downs but ultimately successful.

“In my last year in college in 2001 my friend asked me to go to Deer Valley in Utah to work,” said Bartolo. “We worked three or four months and then I took my experience back to Brazil. I came back during the winter games in 2002 after 9/11 without much life or work experience.”

Bartolo said he went back to Brazil and opened a restaurant. “I ran it for two years. I was in hotel/restaurant management so I wasn’t in the kitchen. I didn’t know how to cook but when I did I fell in love with cooking.”

His restaurant only served lunch, which was pizza. “I learned how to make pasta and we introduced dinner. It was very successful.”

Bartolo said his partnership ended in 2004. “I went to culinary school for 13 months. It was an intensive program then I went to Italy in 2005. I spent six months in Rome working at a hotel restaurant. I had the opportunity to stay but I decided to move back to the U.S.”

He went to work at the St. Regis Hotel at Deer Valley. “I got a solid foundation of business and that’s where I met my wife. We lived in a couple of places then in 2019 we opened Bartolo’s in Park City.”

The last week of December 2020 Bartolo opened his second restaurant in Sugar House. “There were a lot of challenges because of COVID,” he said. “But we made the right decision because it’s been successful.”

Bartolo said they’ve been looking for a place to expand. “We met with CenterCal (Station Park) but we were trying to go south. That didn’t happen so when a spot became available they told us to come take a look. We looked around and said ‘let’s do it.’”

The area had everything they were looking for in a community, he said. “Businesses are going crazy around us. Davis County has been very supportive. We have very high expectations that we can provide homemade food to the community.”

Bartolo’s makes things a little bit different, he said. “We make our food from scratch, our drinks like passion fruit, our syrups and all of the bread. It translates into the quality of our food. People like to know that we didn’t open a box and serve it. It’s the business model that works for us.”

It’s an Italian inspired kitchen, said Bartolo. “The bolognese sauce I learned from my father. We try to offer a great menu selection. We have vegetarian, vegan and gluten free meals. Kids love our noodles.”

It’s all about hospitality and connecting with people, he said. “If someone doesn’t like something we say ‘sorry would you like me to remake it?’”

People come to eat, said Bartolo. “That’s the intention but secondly they come to socialize. That’s what we want to provide to the community, nice ambiance and a comfortable place that they can feel welcome anytime.”

 Bartolo’s is located at Station Park in Farmington and open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday – Thursday and Sunday and 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday with brunch every day from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.