Stefano Catino is the very definition of the consummate host. Walk into Maybe Sammy when he’s on duty — or in any of the Maybe Group’s other venues, be it the coffee-focused Sammy Jr, pizza joint Maybe Frank, or the luxe surrounds of cocktail bar Dean & Nancy on 22 — and he’s commands the room. 

So on this episode, Stefano talks to me about why he does what he does, what it is that he thinks makes Maybe Sammy special, his hopes for their next bar, El Primo Sanchez, and we even break some news around the real story behind the theatrical use of a bubble gun at Maybe Sammy — something that says a lot about the teams approach to experience and service.

Maybe Sammy has won just about every award in Australia that they can, and it has been a fixture of the World’s 50 best Bars list since the bar opened, so I talk him about the importance of these kinds of awards, and what they do for business. But we also talk about how the business began with Maybe Frank back in 2015 — they didn’t do it with big budgets, but with passion and a commitment to quality — and some smart marketing ploys along the way.