SUPER MAMÁ

Bianchini balances work, family gracefully

By Griselda Aldrete

Owning a business and simultaneously raising three children - including a 15-month-old baby - can't be easy. But for Marta Bianchini, 37, these two seemingly conflicting roles go hand in hand.

"I'm a mother first, business woman second," says Bianchini, who co-owns two successful Milwaukee restaurants and a new wine bar with her husband, Marc. "You can't make your kids an excuse for not doing things...I work really hard now because I want to spend time with them when they're teenagers."

Work hard she does. Bianchini is the official accountant for the three establishments her family owns: Osteria del Mondo, Cubanitas and Indulge. She's also the manager of a staff of 55 employees and serves as the event coordinator. Occasionally she'll also jump into the kitchen at Cubanitas to make sandwiches or behind the bar to make mojitos.

There was a time when Bianchini never thought about being in the restaurant industry. But in 1991 she met her husband, Marc, a chef, during a college trip to Cancún, México.

After working for Goya foods in the accounting department in her native New Jersey, Marta and Marc moved to Milwaukee where, she says, "I got dragged into the restaurant business. And now I love it."

In 1994, the Bianchinis opened Osteria Del Mondo, a high-end Italian restaurant near downtown that's attracted a bevy of celebrity guests, including American Idol's Simon Cowell and pop superstar Gwen Stefani. Then in 2003, the Bianchinis opened a Cuban restaurant, Cubanitas.

Both restaurants have enjoyed continued success. In April, Zagat Survey, a go-to-guide for restaurants, hotels and nightlife destinations in the U.S., named Osteria one of America's top Italian restaurants. In 2005, Hispanic Magazine named Cubanitas one of the best 50 Hispanic restaurants in the country. Then in 2006, Latina Style Magazine recognized Bianchini as an outstanding Latina entrepreneur. That same year, the Milwaukee Downtown Business Improvement District #21 gave the Bianchinis its Downtown Achievement Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit.

The Bianchinis aren't slowing down and have spent much of the last year preparing for Indulge's opening.

Bianchini says Milwaukee's restaurant industry is "a little unforgiving" in that customer expectations are high. "Milwaukeeans are some of the most loyal people, so basically try not to screw up because they will go somewhere else."

Bianchini tries to work from home to spend time with her girls (whose names she won't release for privacy reasons). But when she can't, she starts her day by dropping off her two oldest daughters at school at 7:30 a.m. Then she stops at both restaurants to work, usually with her baby in tow and with a babysitter if necessary. Her office at Osteria has a playpen and is baby friendly.

After a full day, she picks up her daughters up from school, goes home to cook dinner and has them in bed by 9 p.m. It's all in a day's work for Bianchini.

THE BIANCHINI BRAND  BY THE NUMBERS

15,000

Number of mojitos consumed at Cubanitas in 2007

10,000

Number of Cuban sandwiches sold at Cubanitas last year

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