About Us
Rooted in Tradition, Fundamentally Italian-American
Chef Jack Trooper (“The Godson”), left, and proprietor John Ingrassia (the godfather!) right.
JOHN INGRASSIA, Proprietor
John is a music industry veteran and longtime Nashville resident. After a three-year stint at a Wall Street law firm, he began a 30+ year career in the music industry in Sony Music’s law department, eventually overseeing the day-to-day operations of Columbia Records in New York. In 2006, John became the first president of the newly formed Sony-BMG Commercial Music Group.
John first learned to cook from his Neapolitan grandmother, Mary, and Sicilian grandfather, John. Every weekend his family would visit his grandparents’ home on Long Island, where he would help prepare epic meals of antipasto, lasagna, broccoli rabe, eggplant, ricotta cheesecake — the list goes on! John went on to earn a B.S. in Economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D. from Stanford Law School.
After spending time in Nashville for work for more than 20 years, John relocated to Music City in 2009 to join Vector, an artist management company. Since then, the New York native regularly dreamt about opening a classic Italian-American deli like the ones he grew up with. With Ingrassia & Sons, John hopes to bring a modern version of an old-school neighborhood deli to Nashville
JACK TROOPER, Chef-Partner
Jack is a veteran of the restaurant industry, having spent years working in Michelin-starred restaurants across North America and Europe. He cut his teeth slinging burgers at a neighborhood joint in Brooklyn before going on to work for chef Wylie Dufresne, focusing on fine dining and modernist cuisine.
He was on Daniel Humm’s kitchen team at Eleven Madison Park while the three-Michelin-starred establishment was ranked the No. 1 restaurant in the world by The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and later traveled with EMP to cook at its seasonal outposts in The Hamptons and Aspen. Throughout his career, Jack has helped open seven restaurants, and his experience spans nearly every role at every level of service — from bartender to head chef; from fast-casual to white-tablecloth fine dining. He also worked in investment banking and venture capital before launching his own delivery-first food business.
A New York native, Jack grew up in Nashville, where he discovered an early love for food and hospitality in the pink-tiled back hallways of Bobbie’s Dairy Dip, a beloved Music City institution that his family once owned. Jack graduated from the International Culinary Center with honors, earned his B.A. in Food Studies from The New School, and has an M.B.A. from the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.
