The Tanguay

It is a truism among General Managers here at Pagliacci that there is the right way, the wrong way, and the Tanguay (which is really the right way with improvements.) Jim Tanguay, General Manager of our 85th Street Delivery Kitchen, celebrated his 20th anniversary with Pagliacci Pizza last week and was presented with a brand new bright red Vespa! After studying Mechanical Engineering at University of New Hampshire, Jim heard the call of the West and decided to move to Seattle. He worked at a couple of pizza places here in town (remember Pizza and Pipes?) and recollects when Pagliacci founder Dorene Centioli-McTigue came calling to see if he might be interested in working at Pagliacci. After some initial resistance (“Oh, no… not another pizza job!”), about 4 or 5 meetings with Dorene, and checking out the pizzerias, Dorene’s passion for Pagliacci convinced Jim that it wouldn’t be just another pizza job nor was it just another company. After training at Broadway, Jim split his time between 55th Street (since moved to Lake City Way) and Stone Way Delivery Kitchens. He was promoted to General Manager and opened the 85th Street location in 1993, where he has been ever since.

Jim recalls a much more limited menu back then…only 5 Primos! And he’s been with Pagliacci so long, he remembers when we didn’t deliver! That’s hard to imagine! Through the years, Jim has been a mentor and a friend to quite a few of our managers, training many of them at the busy 85th Street kitchen. Given his encyclopedic knowledge of our kitchen equipment, he has led classes teaching new managers how to take proper care of the equipment at their locations. However, it isn’t all pizza. When his weekends roll around, Jim can usually be found cooking with his wife Lilli, working on his house, fitting in some skiing and kayaking, and, of course, brewing his award-winning beer, which will be featured at our pizzerias very soon! Congratulations on a great 20 years, Jim! And remember…safety first! Ride with a helmet!