Aces of Trades: Mike and Lesley Payne love the personal relationships around Giovanni’s Pizza
CHILLICOTHE – It’s a restaurant, but it’s also a family affair for Mike and Lesley Payne. They own and operate the local Giovanni’s Pizza.
“I participated in every team sport possible,” Mike recalled, “which taught me everybody has to do their job in order to win.”
“I’ve always had a job,” added Lesley. “I never quit one job before I had another one. That was instilled in me by my mom. My first job at the age of 15 was at a small local restaurant in Cincinnati. The shop was very similar to Giovanni’s. I liked the hometown feel of working somewhere where everybody knew everybody. The staff became family and that’s what Giovanni’s is.”
Lesley grew up in Cincinnati and graduated from Southern Ohio College with a business management degree. She worked 21 years as a business analyst but, she said, “I wasn’t happy. I realized working from home tied to a computer all day was not for me. I liked being around people. I wanted a change.”
Mike grew up in Ironton, did his undergrad work at the University of Kentucky, earned an MBA at Morehead University, then started working at Lawrence County Community Action Organization. “I started my career in sales, moved to management and now I’m in administration,” he explained.
The two got married in 2009.
“With both of us living in different cities,” Lesley said, “we had to find a halfway mark. We ended up in Chillicothe.”
They took over ownership of Giovanni’s in January 2021.
“We decided to roll the dice,” Lesley said, “and take over a staple restaurant in Chillicothe in hopes of continuing the personal relationships with the existing customers, staff and the community. I was scared to death. But once I developed personal relationships with every employee, I was sure this was the right thing to do. We’ve become family and best friends with them. As an added benefit, I get to work with my sons, Cameron and Logan, who’ve played a vital role in our success.”
Lesley works seven days a week at Giovanni’s. “I’m a hands-on manager,” she said. “Whether it’s making pizzas, subs, answering the phones, or doing dishes, you’ll likely find me there.”
Mike works nights and weekends. “Some nights,” he said, “you will find me in the dining room clearing off tables just to converse with the customers. Other nights you’ll find me washing dishes or folding boxes. Whatever needs to be done.”
“At first, we were hesitant,” Lesley summed, “but once we did it, we realized we love it! We love the personal relationships we have with the employees. We love our regulars. We love our new customers. And we love hearing stories about first dates at Giovanni’s, the church groups that come in, and the schools we provide lunch for. It’s an iconic establishment that just needed to turn on the lights, the TVs and the music to make this a fun, family restaurant – that was our goal. We wanted this to be a place parents brought their kids to eat after games. We wanted this to be a place people came after church. And we wanted this to be a place people came to have a family pizza night.”
Giovanni’s Pizza is located at 423 Western Ave. in Chillicothe. For more information, call 740-773-0022 or look on Facebook.
About the Series
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at gaznews@nncogannett.com or 740-349-1110.
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Mike and Lesley Payne love the personal relationships around Giovanni’s Pizza
