Monti Primo Ristorante

10/19/2026

WE ARE OPEN AND I NEED Y’ALL’S HELP FINDING SOMEONE SPECIAL! ❤️

A couple of months ago, when we first started working on Monti Primo and were outside painting the building, something happened that I’ll never forget.

A complete stranger pulled up in his really cool Jeep, walked over, and asked for a paintbrush.

No introductions. No explanations. Didn’t ask for a single thing in return.

He just grabbed a brush and started painting with us. 😂❤️

To this day, I still don’t know what made him stop and help a bunch of strangers paint a building, but I’ll tell you one thing. The world needs more people like him.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to lose his phone number. Forgive me, my friend! I’ve been wanting to reach out to you.

Now that Monti Primo is finally open, I have a little unfinished business.

I OWE THIS MAN AND HIS WIFE A NICE DINNER! 🍝🍷

So I’m asking y’all for a favor. Help me find this mystery Jeep-driving, paintbrush-wielding good Samaritan!

And to my mystery painter: If you see this, please comment below or send me a message. I’d love to have you and your wife come enjoy a nice dinner on me.

You showed up when we were just a family trying to turn an old building into something special. You gave us your time without expecting anything in return.

Now it’s my turn to return the kindness. ❤️

Please share this post! Let’s find this guy! 🙏

10/19/2026

Look what made for us! 😍❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/1EDUE1E1kn/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Lisa, these are almost too beautiful to eat. ALMOST. 😂 My staff absolutely devoured them, and I’m not going to pretend I didn’t help. They were DELICIOUS! You’re an artist in a baker’s body! 🎨🧁 I hope you and the family enjoyed those chicken parms!

Now, to everyone who came out for our little “crash course” tonight… THANK YOU! ❤️

I genuinely did NOT expect that many people to show up! And to all the walk-ins who decided to join us, thank you for taking a chance on us!

We called it a crash course, and boy, did we get one!

I wish I had more photos to share from tonight, but I barely had time to pick up my phone! I also wish I’d had more time to walk around, introduce myself, and say hi to everyone, but the kitchen had other plans for me. We got a little overwhelmed, and I spent most of the night back there trying to keep things moving.

Were we as fast as I wanted us to be? Absolutely not. But that’s exactly why we did this. To learn, make mistakes, figure out what needs fixing, and get better.

We’ll get faster, our team will find its rhythm, and the chaos will eventually turn into a well-oiled Italian food machine. 🇮🇹🍝

And to everyone who brought gifts tonight, THANK YOU! Y’all really didn’t have to do that. The fact that you took the time to bring us something means so much to me. I genuinely appreciate every single one of you. ♥️

I truly hope everyone enjoyed their food. Thank you for your patience, your kindness, and most importantly, for showing up and supporting us.

Seeing that many people come through our doors after everything it took to get here really means more than you know.

From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! ❤️

Tomorrow is another day, and we’ve got some cooking to do! 🍕🇮🇹

10/15/2026

🚨🇮🇹 BELLEVIEW!!! IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING!!! 🍕🎉

After months of construction, renovations, permits, inspections, re-inspections, paperwork, MORE paperwork, and a few gray hairs I didn’t have before… WE ARE FINALLY AT THE FINISH LINE!!! 😂❤️

And WHAT A WEEK it’s been!!!

🔥 MONDAY: PASSED our fire re-inspection! I think the fire inspectors know this building better than I do at this point. 😂

✅ CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION: ISSUED!!!

🧼 WEDNESDAY: PASSED our HEALTH INSPECTION!!! Kitchen is officially ready to rock and roll! 🍝

🎉 TODAY: Received our CITY BUSINESS TAX RECEIPT!!! WOOHOOO!!! 🥳

And you know what felt REALLY good? Ripping all that inspection paperwork off our glass! 😂 I was starting to think those papers were going to become part of our permanent decor!

🍷 NOW ABOUT THE LIQUOR!

Bear with us, guys! I’m submitting our liquor license application to the state, and hopefully we’ll have everything approved within the next two weeks! 🤞

Until then, the food doesn’t need a liquor license to be delicious! 😂

👨‍🍳 WE’VE ALSO BEEN HIRING!

Judging by the messages and comments, apparently there are A LOT of hungry people out there! 🤣 We’ve hired more staff to prepare for the madness. Hopefully we hired enough! 😂

🥁🥁🥁 AND NOW THE BIG NEWS!!!

🇮🇹❤️ OUR GRAND OPENING IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 19TH!!! 🎉🍕🍝

YES!!! AFTER ALL THIS TIME!!!

All jokes aside, this has been one heck of a journey. Countless long days, late nights, unexpected expenses, and moments where I wondered if we’d ever get here.

But WE MADE IT! ❤️

Thank you to everyone who has supported us, encouraged us, and patiently followed this crazy journey! WE LOVE YOU ♥️♥️♥️♥️!

We would absolutely LOVE to have you join us Monday! Just bring your appetite and a little patience while our new team gets into the swing of things. We’ll give it everything we’ve got!

THE INSPECTIONS ARE DONE. THE OVENS ARE HOT.!!! 🔥

📅 MONDAY, OCTOBER 19TH
📍 Monti Primo Ristorante
11008 SE 66th Terrace, Belleview, FL

SEE YOU MONDAY!!! ❤️🇮🇹

10/12/2026

Hey everyone! 🍕🇮🇹

Today we’re putting our new pizza ovens to the test!

Obviously, we couldn’t just turn them on and see if they got hot. That would be way too easy. We had to make some pizzas, test the crust, check the cheese, take a few bites, discuss our findings, and then take a few more bites just to be sure.

So far, the ovens are working beautifully. Unfortunately, the pizzas keep disappearing before we can finish our research.

We’re still investigating. 🧐

Special shoutout to the crew over at The Pawn Shop for volunteering as our official test subjects! 😂 They bravely risked their appetites in the name of science. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

After all these months of construction, renovations, permits, and everything else that’s been thrown our way, it feels pretty darn good to finally be making pizza in our kitchen!

We’re still waiting on our Certificate of Occupancy (CO), and health inspection but we’re crossing our fingers and hoping to officially open next Monday! 🤞🍕

We’re practically at the finish line, guys! Just waiting for the paperwork to catch up with the pizza. 😂

Thank you all for your patience, encouragement, and support throughout this entire journey. We can’t wait to finally welcome you through our doors! ❤️

Monti Primo Ristorante 🇮🇹

10/05/2026

HEY Y’ALL… CONSTRUCTION IS DONE AND WE HAVE A DATE! 🇮🇹

They say it takes about 9 months to make a baby, and we’re right around 9 months since this project started.

There have been hurdles, surprises, headaches and a few moments where I wondered what I got myself into.

But after 9 months, this baby is finally here, and we can’t wait for y’all to see what we’ve built.

And just like a newborn, take it easy on us in the beginning. We’ve designed everything, built the kitchen, created the systems and are training the team, but nothing replaces opening the doors and putting it all into motion. Practice makes perfect, and we’re excited to welcome you in!

Now for the update…

ALL CONSTRUCTION IS OFFICIALLY COMPLETE AND ALL FINAL CONSTRUCTION INSPECTIONS HAVE PASSED!

The Fire Marshal came out and passed us as well.

Coke finished installing and adjusting our soda system. Our ice machine is installed and running, with one more being connected this week.

The electrical and kitchen ceiling are finished. The ovens, stove and fryer are converted to propane. The AC and coolers are running, and all the equipment is in place.

This week has mostly been about cleaning, organizing and building shelving throughout the kitchen. Salad station, server station, pizza station, flour storage and sauté station. I’ve built enough shelves to add carpenter to my résumé.

Excuse the mess in some of the pictures. Everything is still finding its permanent home.

Our CO walkthrough is scheduled for this week.

After that, we have our health inspection.

Then it’s time…

OUR GRAND OPENING DATE IS MONDAY, OCTOBER 19TH!

We can’t wait to see everyone who has supported us from the beginning. Thank you for following this project, sharing our posts, stopping by to check on us and patiently waiting.

Nine months later, Monti Primo is finally ready to be born. 🇮🇹🍕🍝

Now we just have to teach this baby how to walk.

09/20/2026

Monti Primo Update

BIG progress this week, y’all!

Wednesday was a good day. We passed our back flow building, second rough plumbing, rough electrical and framing inspections.

More ductwork was finished, including the remaining intake vents we needed, and Thursday we passed our second mechanical inspection.

We also started servicing the AC units, walk in cooler and the two older coolers we already had.

And then the fun stuff showed up!

Our pizza prep cooler, salad cooler, sauté station cooler and b**r cooler were delivered and put into place.

Now you can really see where the magic is going to happen.

Each station has its own cooler positioned around the main work table so our cooks have what they need right at their station.

Our expo and server station is also set up. Hot food comes out through expo and servers will come back here for refills. This keeps them connected to the kitchen so they can see when food for their tables is ready instead of letting it sit.

Friday, the gas company turned on the gas and tested the lines and equipment. Everything checked out good. Our oven is also being converted to propane. No natural gas here yet…

The men’s bathroom is officially finished and looking fantastic. I got a little distracted with the kitchen this week, so I still need to finish up the women’s bathroom.

We also got some GREAT news.

DBPR officially approved our restaurant plans!

Once we receive our CO, I can call and schedule their final inspection.

This coming week:

Monday, we finish servicing the AC units and coolers.

Tuesday is last of our electrical work.

Wednesday, insulation and ceiling panels are scheduled to go in.

Now that the equipment is positioned, we can also finish the remaining plumbing.

After that, we keep knocking out those final inspections.

The pictures are finally starting to look less like a construction project and more like a restaurant.

We’re getting close, y’all!

09/06/2026

Monti Primo Update 🇮🇹

Sorry we haven’t been updating y’all as much as we’d like. We’ve been really busy, but we’re working on that.

Another week closer.

The kitchen equipment is officially connected to gas, and our new fire suppression system is installed. All of the fire extinguishers have been serviced too. Not the most exciting stuff to look at, but apparently they don’t let you open a restaurant without all that important stuff.

We also made some good progress on our liquor license. Fingerprints are done and sent in, the City has signed off, and the Division of Revenue has signed off. We’re getting closer there too.

This week, I worked on some of the finishing touches in the bathrooms. There’s still more work to do, but things are coming together.

And now for the more exciting stuff…

☕ Our new espresso machine is here!

I’ve been testing it out, and it makes some REALLY good espresso. I’ve had to do a lot of “quality control.” Someone has to make the sacrifice. A big thank you to my neighbors for being my test subjects!

👔 I’ve also been testing out the prints for our kitchen shirts. The first tie came out too small, so now I’m waiting on the 15-inch ties. Apparently, tie size matters.

We also have a new ceiling grid and new LED diffused lighting installed in the kitchen. They give it a bit of a Batman warehouse vibe, but that could just be because I’ve read too many comics. I don’t know…you be the judge.

Coming up this week, the electrical work is supposed to be finished Tuesday and Wednesday. Fingers crossed. The remaining ductwork should also be completed. They were waiting for the hood filters to arrive so they could finish everything at once.

Still have about 4 coolers to be delivered but waiting for kitchen to clear up.

Once those bigger items are checked off, we’ll keep pushing toward final inspections and that beautiful little piece of paper called a CO.

It’s been a long road, but every week the list gets shorter.

Thank you to everyone who has been following along, sharing our posts, and waiting patiently for us to open.

Monti Primo is getting close! 🇮🇹🍕🍝☕

And yes…I promise these updates will eventually be about food instead of construction.

07/29/2026

Progress Update! 🍕🔥

Hey everyone!

Another big milestone for Monti Primo. Our kitchen hoods are officially up!

This might not look exciting to everyone, but these hoods are a huge part of what will allow us to cook all of your favorite pizzas, pastas, and Italian dishes safely and efficiently.

We installed two commercial hoods. One is a dedicated heat hood for our gorgeous new pizza ovens, and the other is for our sauté line. All that w**e, olive oil, garlic, and everything else that makes Italian food so incredible needs a proper ventilation system.

We also installed stainless steel wall panels behind the cooking line. Not only do they look great, but they make cleaning much easier. A clean kitchen is one of the most important ingredients in making delicious food, and we’re committed to maintaining the highest standards from day one.

We’re still working our way through the final checklist: electrical, gas, fire suppression, inspections, and all the other behind the scenes work that goes into opening a restaurant the right way.

We know it’s taking longer than we originally hoped, and trust us, we’re just as eager to open our doors as you are. Building a restaurant from the ground up has been a journey, but every week we’re checking off another major milestone.

Thank you all for your patience, encouragement, and support. We read every comment, and it means more than you know.

We’re getting closer, and we can’t wait to welcome you to Monti Primo soon! 🇮🇹❤️

07/06/2026

Hey everyone! Hope y’all had an awesome 4th of July! 🇺🇸🎆

We’ve got some exciting news…

The permits have officially been issued! 🎉

The old hoods are officially out, and now we’re getting everything ready for the new hood system and electrical installation. It feels great to finally be moving forward again after all the waiting.

We’re in the home stretch now. These hoods are the last major piece of the puzzle before we can open our doors. Once they’re installed, we’ll be able to start putting together the final pieces, and that means opening day is getting very close.

We know it’s been a long journey, and we can’t thank you enough for sticking with us, sharing our posts, stopping by to check on the progress, and cheering us on. Your support has kept us motivated every step of the way.

We’ll keep posting updates as things move along. Trust me… the finish line is finally in sight.

We can’t wait to welcome you into Monti Primo, serve you some incredible Italian food, and show you what we’ve been working so hard to build.

We’re getting closer, Belleview. 🇮🇹🍝❤️

06/26/2026

Thank you for having us. And special thanks Diane Thomason 😊.

🙌 There's always room for one more at the table.

Join us in welcoming our newest CEP Partners! We can't wait to see the impact they'll make in the Ocala Metro business community.

Ocala Health and Wellness
Nothing Bundt Cakes
Printing & Promotional Partners
Doyle Contractors, LLC
Ocala Massage and Integrative Therapies
Monti Primo Ristorante
The Crane Financial Group

Thinking about becoming a partner? Let's connect!

As always, thank you to Heart of Florida Health Center for being our Social Media Presenting Sponsor and for helping us celebrate local business success.