Local Eats—B&I Operation Welcomes Community Restaurants

Signature restaurant dishes in the comfort of your own cafeteria? Yes, please. The employees at Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), in Stamford, Conn., got that chance last month as part of the first of a monthly program that will bring in locally owned Stamford restaurants to the café. Frank Miglino, director of operations for Restaurant Associates at RBS, says the program came about after an employee at RBS hooked the foodservice department up with Stamford Downtown Special Services District, which promotes locally owned establishments to the community. “RBS has a big initiative to support the local community, so this was a way to partner with RBS for the foodservice piece of that,” Miglino says.

RBS used its mobile cart to set up a special station for Napa & Co. to present its dish. Miglino says RBS hopes to host a different restaurant every month during the summer. Next up on the schedule is the Columbia Park Trattoria, a family-owned Italian restaurant. Miglino says there are a lot of restaurants that are eager to participate. “It makes sense because they get exposure to 2,500 potential customers, and we get to offer our customers something special.”

Napa & Co. prepared one of its signature dishes for the event, sheep’s milk ricotta gnocchi with braised veal breast, sage velouté and Moliterno cheese. A smaller portion than what is served in the restaurant was offered. The dish gave RBS employees a taste of the restaurant’s commitment to simple, clean flavors. Miglino says the owner and chef of Napa & Co. visited RBS several times to finalize the menu for the event.