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By: Jo Anne Efird, Lifestyles Editor
Sunday, December 24, 2006 — Rich Frettoloso had planned a career in music. A drummer with degrees in music and psychology from Western Carolina University, he was getting ready to go back to college in 1991 to further pursue his music career.
He fell into the psychology business by accident. He got a summer job working second shift in a group home.
He has been in the field ever since.
“I love the direct support being in a group home and being with folks every day,” he said.
With two professions already, working with people with disabilities and music, he added a third. He has been a chef professionally for 14 or 15 years.
He always loved to cook. “It is therapy,” he said.
Now he is combining those professions. With those he serves as employees, he has opened “Papa’s Arc,” an Italian/American restaurant serving the evening meal in the Arc building on Greenwood Street.
Working there teaches the clients to be employees in the food service business. It is a non-profit venture, but if there should be any profits, they would go back into the business.
When the cafeteria has finished serving lunch to the people who come there, Frettoloso and his employees go in around 3:30 to 4 p.m. and get ready for customers, clearing it and setting it up as a cafe.
It is open 5-9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. No reservations are needed.
Papa’s Arc provides training and support for clients.“We really weren’t doing anything internally to teach people,” Frettoloso said. “It would be nice to develop a model that could be used elsewhere.”
Frettoloso does the cooking. He has individuals they support helping him. Two women working out front waiting tables and everybody else on the payroll is someone they support.
And they get paid.
The cuisine is Italian and American — linguini with meat balls, lasagna, chicken Parmesan, shrimp scampi, fettuccini Alfredo, chicken breast supreme, shrimp, flounder, crab cakes and “great cannoli.”
The Arc provides service to 32 centers across the state and is now one of the largest providers for people with disabilities in the state.
Frettoloso will have been in Stanly County two years in January. He came to Greenwood Center as a Qualified Professional from R.H.A. in Greensboro.
Originally from Atlanta, he grew up in Greensboro and went to culinary school at Guilford Tech.
Recently his culinary talents have been recognized.
He entered a national recipe contest sponsored by chefs.com and Hamilton Beach. Out of thousands submitted he was one of 100 semifinalists.
Now through Jan. 27 is a voting period for people to vote for their favorite recipes on www.treasuredrecipes.com.
When someone votes for a recipe they are entered into a contest for give-aways.
A person can vote up to five times a day every day. The top five winners will be flown to San Francisco for a cook off at the California Culinary Institute. It will be judged by celebrity judges.
The national winner gets $10,000.
The recipe he submitted is a tomato sauce — Rich of Troy.
Fifty percent of the score was based on the recipe itself and 50 percent on how it fit into family traditions. Contestants had to submit a story along with the recipe.
Frettoloso is married and has two daughters, 12 and nine.
He and his crew invite everyone to stop by their new restaurant on Greenwood Street.
And he invites everyone to vote online for his winning recipe.
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Papa’s Arc spices it up