{"id":654,"date":"2021-05-19T05:49:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T05:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/?p=654"},"modified":"2021-12-15T22:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T22:44:15","slug":"it-takes-two-saints-and-a-taco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2021\/giving-opportunities\/it-takes-two-saints-and-a-taco\/","title":{"rendered":"It Takes Two"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Father-Daughter Duo Host Two Saints & a Taco Tasting Fundraiser<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blog_600x300_CARABBAS\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alumni John Marion Carrabba \u201979, owner of Piatto Ristorante, and his daughter Jessica Carrabba \u201914, are co-chairs of the 10th Anniversary Two Saints & A Taco Tasting event, being held this year on the University of St. Thomas campus and virtually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alumni and friends are invited to attend the taco tasting competition and scholarship fundraiser from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on Friday, June 11, 2021 on the UST Academic Mall. Guests can enjoy tacos from several Houston-area competing restaurants, along with St. Arnold microbrews. Plus, there will be a wine garden this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe dynamic duo of John Marion and his daughter Jessica Carrabba brings excitement and enthusiasm to the 10th anniversary, because they are both alumni of the University and have a great family history and legacy with UST,\u201d said Carla E. Alsandor, senior director of Aalumni Relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Marion served as a celebrity judge of the event twice before, once with his daughter, and he and Jessica are part of a multi-generational legacy at UST. His mother-in-law worked as an administrative assistant for the former nursing school in the 1980s; his wife, Janice, attended St. Thomas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Both Carrabbas, Relationships Are the Key to Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

John Marion credits the relationships built at UST for his positive experience, something he practiced in the bank industry for 13 years and that he now carries into the restaurant work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I loved about UST and love about it to this day is the personal touch,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople want to be recognized. Whether you\u2019re a bank receptionist or teller, it\u2019s the same thing here in the restaurant business; it\u2019s the personal touch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building relationships is part of Jessica\u2019s work too, as an account consultant at Southern Glazer\u2019s Wine & Spirits, where she helps clients, including her dad, create menus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a genetic thing or if it\u2019s being in the restaurant industry, but I\u2019m a people person,\u201d Jessica said. \u201cI love helping people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica, who has a business degree in marketing from UST, worked alongside her father at Piatto while in college.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica said as a legacy student at St. Thomas, it was fun to see what had changed and remained the same as her dad\u2019s experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere were professors I had that my dad had when he was there,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the campus and so much had changed. There wasn\u2019t a marketing degree when he was there. Social media wasn\u2019t a thing. Cell phones and laptops weren\u2019t a thing. It was nice to see the differences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father, Daughter Work Together as a Team  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

John Marion said he has enjoyed working with his daughter as co-chair of Two Saints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s the smart one as far as the marketing, the new ideas, the new generation ideas,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just the old man that still has the old ideas. We\u2019re taking those ideas and mingling them together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jessica said it works well with each giving their input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWorking for him, I learned a lot of business skills and we\u2019re in sync when it comes to business,\u201d she said. \u201cI look up to him so much. It\u2019s nice watching him in his element.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Marion is happy to see business picking up again in his Uptown area restaurant, after a tumultuous year due to pandemic restrictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t seen some customers in a year,\u201d he said. \u201cSince the vaccinations started up, regulars are here every weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Marion also was instrumental in running the Houston Italian Festival, held on the UST campus and unfortunately canceled for a second year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Two Saints & a Taco Tasting will be held in person this year, with precautions in place. Despite the social distancing, John Marion and Jessica both said they are looking forward to the camaraderie with the alumni who attend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to trying those tacos from various vendors,\u201d John Marion said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to a beer or two. I\u2019m looking forward to Jessica and I being co-chairs \u2013 I think that\u2019s pretty neat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Marion invites alumni to get involved: \u201cPlease get out and support our University and enjoy a night of great food and beer, along with your family and\/or friends. If you can\u2019t make it, please consider giving a donation for the student scholarships.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legacy family members John Marion Carrabba \u201979, owner of Piatto Restaurant, and his daughter Jessica Carrabba \u201914 are giving back their time and talent to co-chair this year\u2019s Two Saints & a Taco Tasting event on its 10th anniversary. The two credit personal relationships as the secret to their work success, something they valued when attending St. Thomas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,6,8],"tags":[555,554,553,556,428,11,552,183],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-featured-stories","category-giving-opportunities","tag-jessica-carrabba","tag-john-marion-carrabba","tag-piatto-ristorante","tag-scholarship-fundraiser","tag-summer-2021-issue","tag-summer-issue","tag-two-saints-a-taco-tasting","tag-university-of-st-thomas"],"yoast_head":"\nIt Takes Two - Encounter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alumni John Marion Carrabba \u201979, owner of Piatto Ristorante, and his daughter Jessica Carrabba \u201914, are co-chairs of the 10th Anniversary Two Saints & A Taco Tasting event\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.stthom.edu\/encounter\/2021\/giving-opportunities\/it-takes-two-saints-and-a-taco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It Takes Two - 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