By Andy Warrener
The Laker/Lutz News Correspondent
Self-taught chef Ben Pumo has lived two or three lifetimes in his 36 years on earth.
From a college dropout with a suspended driver’s license, Pumo now owns and operates one of the most recognizable Italian restaurants in Pasco County, Benedetto’s.
Pumo’s journey to the cozy setting at 21529 Village Lakes Shopping Center Drive in Land O’ Lakes was anything but typical.
He enrolled at St. Leo University and began a degree in hotel/restaurant management. At the same time he began running a restaurant/night club out of his apartment, which didn’t sit well with the school or with local authorities.
Eventually, Puma was booted from St. Leo seven credits shy of his degree. His run-ins with the law weren’t done, either.
Pumo racked up enough DUIs that his driving privileges were taken away. It began a series of events that shaped Pumo’s life and helped land him where he is today.
“I finally decided to suck it up and walk to work,” Pumo said.
After stints at Erwin Tech and Pepin distributing, Pumo, who lives in Lutz, started working at Villaggio’s, which was then owned by Vasco Ferraro. Villaggio’s was just a couple miles walk from his house and offered Pumo a chance to learn how to prepare authentic Italian dishes.
He wound up washing dishes.
“After a month (of washing dishes) I started working prep, grating the cheese, prepping the salads,” Pumo said.
Pumo only worked at Villagio’s for a year, but the experience built a foundation for Pumo as setbacks started to turn into opportunities.
“I learned to cook from the pan up,” Pumo said. “Everything’s done is one pan. Different parts of the dish aren’t prepared in other places or at different times. Timing is everything. You start with what takes the longest if you want it all to come out at the same time.”
Pumo faced another setback when Villaggio’s ownership changed. He and new owner Giuseppe Mascali didn’t exactly “see eye to eye,” and after a few months Pumo left.
His next stop was at the former Whiskey Willy’s in Carrollwood. There, Pumo cooked wings, burgers and such while simultaneously preparing food for a fine dining crowd in a different part of the restaurant.
“I remember at one point using a cue stick to switch camera angles on all the dining spots in the restaurant, keeping an eye on things, making sure they ran smoothly,” Pumo said.
He developed a reputation as a multitasker, keeping five, six, seven pans going at the same time. Pumo recalls a moment while still working for Mascali at Villaggio’s when he had multiple pots and pans churning on the stove and earned the nickname “the monster.”
“Giuseppe saw me and said, ‘One day you gonna have your own place and call it Bennedetto’s,’” said Pumo, who explained that’s the Italian name for Ben.
Thus, the idea of Benedetto’s was born. However, it was not going to grow at Whiskey Willy’s.
On Friday the 13th of April 2001, Whiskey Willy’s burned basically to the ground.
“We lost everything,” Pumo said. “I still have some knives here (at Benedetto’s) that have melted handles.”
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Pumo and his wife Elizabeth pooled together with his family and purchased what used to be, ironically enough, a Captain D’s fast-food, seafood joint. The drive through sign for Captain D’s is still in the parking lot at Benedetto’s.
Fate was not finished with him.
In 2003, his daughter Alyssa was born. Later that year, Pumo was diagnosed with testicular cancer, all as he was trying to renovate and attract customers to his new restaurant.
A decade later, Pumo has exactly what he’s always wanted, a place of his own where he can do things his way.
Pumo goes to great lengths to provide fresh and local food to his customers.
He travels to Maine in the summer to secure lobster and seafood orders. He orders Angus beef from Florida ranches. He buys herbs from the local Montessori school.
And rest assured, nothing you order from Benedetto’s is premade.
“You can’t fake fresh,” Pumo said. “People will wait an extra two minutes for fresh.”
Lynda Faircloth recently celebrated her birthday by ordering the veal at Benedetto’s.
“Authentic, unique, homemade,” Faircloth said. “It’s not a dish you would make at home. I have high expectations when I come here and they are met highly.”
First-time diner Virginia Keaveny said, “From beginning to end it was all superior. We would come back in a heartbeat.”
Bennedetto’s is open seven days a week from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m., 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. Dinner reservations are accepted. For more information, visit italianrestauranttampa.com or call (813) 909-9694.
