Italian restaurant chain founder slows down with latest venture

Bar Italia, founder Ricky Doody says, won't get as big as Bravo! Cucina Italiana or Brio Tuscan Grille.

By Lesley Dwyer
| 5:00 a.m. July 25, 2024
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Bar Italia is preparing to open on July 13 in the Center Point plaza on the corner of University Parkway and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard.

Manatee-Sarasota

At 65 years old, Ricky Doody, founder of NCR Ventures, says he is finished with big restaurant chains and eating at the mall — despite the success those concepts delivered for his company.

NCR stands for Next Cool Restaurants. Doody and his brother Chris created the Italian restaurant chains Bravo! Cucina Italiana and Brio Tuscan Grille under NCR. They sold the parent company for the brands in 2018.

“I don’t want to do that again,” Doody says. “I love taking care of people. I love to serve, but I don’t have a lot of energy to do a lot more restaurants. It’s hard enough to build them and run them. I’d rather do a few more quality restaurants and keep it at that.”