Olio: Flavorful Food And Fond Memories

If there is a secret recipe for successful cooking in our area, savvy restaurateur Carol Kanabis knows all of the ingredients.  Owner of Olio, Bravo Bravo and Azu, Kanabis has the ability to spin gold behind every restaurant door she opens.

Her restaurants have earned her a favorable reputation locally and regionally, serving big names like Morgan Freeman, James Woods and Armande Assante, and drawing acclaim from The New York Times.

“I wish I was younger so I had more years in the business,” says Kanabis, who sees a high rate of burnout in the industry.  Always passionate, she views cuisine as a lifestyle, and constantly seeks innovative products to bring to the table. 

Kanabis, a warm, forthright and private sixty-something woman, explains that she has only granted one other interview in her 48 years in the industry.  She’s most comfortable behind the scenes, but agrees to meet anyway.  

Kanabis grew up in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.  Her formative years, which shaped her culinary passions, were spent on a farm.  She speaks fondly of wood burning ovens and raising chickens, and equates flavorful food with happiness and fond memories. 

“If you wanted vegetable stew, you dug your own potatoes (and) you picked your peas.  My grandma would have homemade bread.  She would put it in a dish and pour all those wonderful vegetables over it.  It was to die for,” Kanabis says.

“That was all we had.  We had a plentiful table filled with good food. This is why I think my passion for food is so deep.”

One of her favorite moments is watching customers take that first bite. "That’s when all your hard work becomes a burst of pleasure,” she says.

Kanabis ventured into New London at age 17, to spend the summer and take a waitressing job.  She found her niche and never left the area.  Eventually, she married, had children, then joined her mother and opened the Italian restaurant Pisaeno’s in New London.

Kanabis would travel to New York for inspiration, and bring back such innovations as fried calamari and focaccia.  Her mother lost interest in the business after her husband’s death.  The restaurant was sold 3 years after opening.

During the years to follow, Kanabis put her plans on hold to spent time with family.  It wasn’t until 1991 that Kanabis opened her next restaurant Bravo Bravo, where she employed her mother until her death in 2003. Olio followed in 2002 with the addition of Azu in 2006.

“People love Olio; I think they respect what we do," Kanabis says.  "We have cultivated a diner who appreciates good food.“

After  4 years at Olio, Kanabis passed the torch to chef and upcoming partner Jason Kowalski.  ”Without the crew and chef (Olio) wouldn’t receive the praise it gets," she explains. "Olio is in good hands.”

Kanabis continues to spend most of her time at Azu, where she plans to bring on a new chef. In the meantime, she continues to build her empire with the addition of upcoming restaurant, Purple Donkey.

After four decades in the industry, she is still as enthusiastic as ever. "Everything has been channeled into the restaurants," she says. "This is my passion, and my love comes out here."