Occupation: Managing Director of Little Wing Pizzeria
Age: 25
E-Mail address: luke@littlewingpizzeria.com
Place of Birth: Dundonald
Where you live: Bangor
First Job: Glass collector
What it taught me: Although my father had already created a well established family business of bars and restaurants I always worked for my pocket money starting with sorting empty bottles into the crates and skips at the age of nine along with my older brother. This helped me to develop a great work ethic from an early age
Family/Status: Single
Best advice anyone ever gave you: Blood is thicker than water. In a family business you have to make it work, there is no point in falling out over petty things. Work with each other and not against each other
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Make sure you are passionate about your business, if you don’t have the passion then there is no point. You have to be willing to work hard and long. If you have the passion then that should show and help to inspire your staff members
Luke Wolsey grew up around pubs and restaurants, playing in his dad Bill’s bars when he would accompany him to work as a child.
Helping the cleaners sweep up eventually led to him clearing bottle bins and stocking the bars on Saturdays for his pocket money, a practice which helped develop the strong work ethic that he still carries. Working his way through the business as a glass collector; cleaner; toilet attendant and others, it’s fair to say that Luke learned his trade from the bottom up.
After school and college he worked as a chef in TaTu for over a year, an experience he really enjoyed and which gave him a hands-on understanding of how a busy kitchen works.
He then moved out onto the floor and bar for another year, serving his ‘apprenticeship’ and getting to grips with all operational aspects of one of the busiest bars and restaurants in Belfast.
After TaTu he spent a number of years working in a number of pubs, clubs and restaurants to widen his experience.
Luke then set up his first business four years ago. The Salty Dog bar, restaurant and hotel, which is situated in Bangor, proved to be hugely successful. However after two and a half years he sold it on so that he could put all his efforts into Little Wing Pizzeria.
Luke and his team came up with the brand and concept of a new, cool and authentic Neapolitan pizzeria and, after starting with Ann Street in the city centre, now has four thriving branches. The young entrepreneur is not stopping there though and will soon be expanding to Dublin where another three Little Wings are getting set to fly.
