Running one restaurant is challenging; managing three while keeping the spirit of family at the heart of each is a labor of love. But for John Paul Gagliano, it’s more than a business. It’s a legacy, a tradition passed down through generations to bring his beloved Memphis community together. Although the service industry can be challenging, John Paul can stay mentally and physically well thanks to his dedication to staying active and consistently prioritizing personal growth — habits he encourages in himself and his staff at Ecco, Libro, and Tonica.
John Paul is a lifelong Memphian and comes from a long line of gifted athletes. His uncles excelled in professional baseball, and his father played for the Italian national baseball team and competed in the Olympics. While John Paul played baseball growing up, he remembers being timid and underdeveloped, which he thinks held him back athletically.
“Growing up without much privilege to a single mother, my brothers and I spent a lot of our free time helping my mom out at her restaurants,” he remembers. His mother, a passionate restaurateur, opened Fratelli’s on Front Street when John Paul was in fourth grade. Despite their hard work, the business struggled until it reopened as a lunch service and eventually catering business out of the Botanic Gardens.
Throughout high school and college, John Paul always spent time at the gym as a form of self-care and mental escape. “I was able to get to a place of consistency, determination, and discipline through working out that has carried me through professionally,” he reflects. “Now, fitness plays into everything I do. To show up every day and stay consistent, you have to sacrifice short-term desires for long-term success, which I learned through my fitness, but it applies to all aspects of life.”
While John Paul was in college at the University of Memphis, his family opened Ecco on Overton Park in 2014, and he immediately began working in service there. After he graduated in 2016 with a business administration degree, his mother gifted him a box of business cards with his name on them, listing John Paul as General Manager, and so began his restaurant management career. Shortly after, the Gaglianos were approached to open Libro in Novel Bookstore, then expanded to open Tonica in 2020. As he approaches a decade as a general manager of these flourishing Memphis culinary staples, John Paul is dedicated to creating a positive and nourishing environment for his staff and their customers.
John Paul strives to incentivize his staff to enjoy working in his restaurants by increasing salaries, allowing flexibility in time off, and encouraging healthy habits. “A few of my servers mentioned they had started going to the gym together, and that inspired me to start paying for their gym memberships and looking into a gym membership program for all employees,” he remarks. “But outside of physical fitness, I want my staff to be able to turn to me if they need help or are going through a tough time, and know that I will do everything I can to help them.”
Now that his mother has moved to Italy, John Paul has started a new biannual program that gives one staff member a trip to visit her and learn about authentic Italian cuisine. “My staff does so much to go above and beyond for the restaurants and customers. I want to try and do the same for them,” he says.
As John Paul continues to grow his family’s restaurants and provide the best possible experience for his staff and clients, he also makes time to care for his mental, physical, and spiritual health. He still finds solace in the gym and is training in bodybuilding and jiu-jitsu. He has spent recent years nurturing his spiritual health and was baptized last fall, noting that his journey in his faith has also been immensely beneficial for his well-being.
Looking forward, John Paul has big ideas for the future of his businesses, including the recent expansion of Ecco, and potentially a new meal prep business. But more than anything, he wants to continue to foster a caring community centered around the well-being of his staff.
For John Paul Gagliano, success isn’t just measured in full dining rooms or glowing reviews. It’s in the well-being of his staff, the balance he maintains in his own life, and the sense of community his restaurants foster. By prioritizing a holistic approach, he’s proving that a thriving business and a healthy, happy team go hand in hand. As he looks ahead, his goal remains the same: to nourish not just appetites, but lives — one meal, one moment, and one mindful decision at a time.
Stop by one of his local restaurants and taste the passion behind every dish.
Ecco on Overton Park
Libro at Laurelwood
Tonica Memphis
By Zoe Harrison
Photo by Tindall Stephens
