Business Spotlight
Get an inside perspective on what’s going in our town through the eyes of business owners and entrepreneurs that serve the people here. For our first Business Spotlight, we had the pleasure of getting to learn more about one of Windber’s most popular family-owned restaurants, directly from the owner himself, Pino Gallina.
[Windber Works]: Tell us about your business.
[Pino Gallina]: “Mimo’s is a locally owned restaurant that specializes in Italian food! It was founded in 1983 by my parents, Mimo and Teresa Gallina, and they handed it down to me in 2008, so I’ve grown up in the family restaurant business. We have a little bit of everything on our menu, but we are locally known for our pizza and strombolis! Many of our menu selections are made from scratch right here at the shop in Windber, and we are very proud of that. We also have an easy-to-use online ordering system, an expansive delivery area covering most of the local communities, and a beautiful outdoor seating area that showcases Miners Park across the street.”
[WW]: How did you get your start?
[PG]: “I’ve grown up in the family business, and I’ve helped out at the shop for as long as I can remember. My sisters and I would hang out there as kids when my parents were working, and I always remember being mesmerized watching my dad make pizza. As I got older, my parents started giving me small tasks to do, like stocking and sweeping up, and as the years went on, I was handed more responsibilities. Eventually, I took over in 2008, and I’ve been here ever since!”
[WW]: Why are you passionate about the work you do? Or is there anything that you’re most proud of from your work?
[PG]: “Something that I’m most proud of is the recent remodel of not only our building, but our business as well. My parents built this restaurant from the ground up, and I’ve always been passionate about keeping that momentum going and helping our small business thrive. We’ve completely updated the inside of Mimo’s from top to bottom, in addition to adding an outdoor seating area, to incorporate a more modern look, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. We’ve also added a state of the art online ordering service that has helped our customers to get their ‘Mimo’s fix’ much easier and faster than ever before. It has helped to streamline our business to make it more efficient for both our employees and our customers. Both of these updates have helped us to be able to both sustain our small business and compete with the big corporate companies.”
[WW]: What do you love about Windber?
[PG]: “I really love the small-town feel of Windber. I grew up here for most of my life, and when I got older, I moved to Richland, where I met my wife. We thought about staying in Richland, but there’s just something about Windber that made us want to move back here. There are so many good people that care so much about this town. We have excellent people serving us & working for the borough, not to mention the dozens of volunteers that work hard every day to keep our little community looking great. The school district is top-notch, we have many successful festivals that take place here faithfully every year, and it’s just a great place to raise a family. Windber has so much history being a coal mining town, and without the positive efforts of all of the hard-working people that have cared about this town, the future of the town could have easily gone a different way.”
[WW]: When you’re not working, what’s something that you like to do with your free time?
[PG]: “When I’m not working, I’m spending my days with my wife of 6 years, Kaylin, and our 2 children, Hudson and Lennon. We enjoy doing anything outdoors and love going to family-oriented places, like Idlewild, Splash Lagoon, and 814 Lanes & Games, Gallitzin state park.”
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