Obsession drove Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks owner to rapid Twin Cities expansion

Armed with a knack for cooking and a host of family recipes, Gambino wanted to bring the world-renowned Philly cheesesteaks to Minnesota. And Khan has since become an expert on both the sandwich and the pie, having opened Frank & Andrea, a late-night staple in Dinkytown, in 2016 and a series of Tono Pizzeria and Cheesesteaks since 2019.

The first Tono location in Maplewood grew out of a planned second Frank and Andrea location. The new restaurant was meant to elevate the cheesesteak-pizza fusion to a dine-in experience. Khan and Gambino actually own Tono as partners of a local capital investment group, MVK Capital, made up of partners from the engineering, hospitality, realty, construction and logistics industries.

We make sure that everybody from our customers to our staff understands the history. We make sure to tell the story of Antonio's family, his mom, his dad, their influence on the recipes. We have partnerships with local charities. We embed ourselves in our communities — not for the sake of business but for the sake of integration — because we want to be part of those neighborhoods. It's very much about building an experience that is authentic to not just our brand but also that particular location.

We're fortunate to be a favorite of people now. As soon as our signage goes up, people just kind of hear about us, and they start asking, 'Hey, I saw your sign up. When are you opening?' That's pretty cool. So there isn't too much on the advertising side before we open.

Having the right people in the right seat. If you try to do everything yourself, you're not going to do it well, or you'll fail doing them all. But if you have a strong team that supports you, and you support them, you're able to do great things together. And I think that is the backbone of our Tono operations.

If you have an idea, and you want to be in business, talk to other people who are doing what, seemingly, you want to do because there's so much insight to draw from people who have those experiences. There's no shortage of ideas. It's all about execution. Really understanding who you are as a person and what your motivations are, I think, is very important. You have to be obsessed about doing it. Because if you're not obsessed, someone who is obsessed is going to do it better. If you're not obsessed, then how are your customers ever going to become obsessed?

I want people to reach out to me because whether they're new or aspiring business owners or other people in the restaurant community, I look forward to having those conversations. Connecting with members of my community is paramount for me.

I don't need to do things just because they're solely of benefit to me. Sometimes, we do things because we don't know what the outcome might be and because it's the right thing to do, as well. Connecting with people who want or seek to connect, I think, is doing right by others. Not everything is about business and not everything is about utility. Sometimes, it's just about connecting with other people for the sake of connecting.