Sole Mio Italian restaurant coming to Valley Creek Mall

Chianti Grill customers in Roseville and Burnsville said goodbye to their executive chef last week, while Woodbury awaits his arrival.

Italian chef Angelo Montes, who made Woodbury his hometown after moving here from Italy 12 years ago, will soon open up the restaurant Sole Mio at the Valley Creek Mall.

“’Sole Mio’ means ‘my sun,’ like the Italian song,” he said. “Remember that? It’s very romantic.”

Montes vows to charm Woodbury with his friendly personality, authentic Italian cuisine and welcoming customer service.

The restaurant is slated for a June opening in the former Mi Familia Mexican restaurant that closed about two years ago.

Montes said the space wasn’t laid out properly for a restaurant setting and he plans to change things up.

Sole Mio will accommodate up to 240 diners including the outdoor patio, he said.

The restaurant will also have a bar that seats about 40 people.

“My dream was open in Woodbury,” Montes said. “I wish for Woodbury people to meet myself and my family.”

Montes moved to the United States with his wife Teresa and two children, Danny and Erica, who will be helping out at the restaurant as well.

He’s always had a passion for cooking and developing new recipes.

Montes was certified with the American Culinary Federation before becoming the executive chef for Chianti Grill for the past 10 years.

Working there gave him the experience and confidence to move on and open his own business, he said.

He will partner with Lisa and Tony Magnotta to own and operate Sole Mio and bring in some of the 6,000 recipes he’s developed over the years to Woodbury.

“I always tell people cooking is very easy,” he said. “You have to find the passion and dedication.”

Every recipe Montes creates comes from traditional Italian technique. But he said it’s the way he tweaks things to make it the “Chef Angelo way” that makes them special.

“The combination is millions, you know what I mean,” Montes added.

Constantly smiling, joking around with customers and charming people with not only his cooking, but his Italian accent, Montes is sure he will succeed.

“I really love people,” he said. “I’m really a friendly guy with everyone and my business will be all around that.”

He’s appeared on local television before and was awarded Chef of the Year in 2010 by the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation.

But for now, Montes has one (or three) goals in mind:

“To give (people) high quality food, very good service and reasonable price,” he said.

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