01
OUR STORY
Memory is
the first ingredient.
PepeNero tells the story of the two places Chef Giorgio Lo Greco calls home: Sicily and Traverse City, Michigan. The cooking begins with family recipes, days spent in his uncle’s trattoria, and the markets and coast of Palermo—then evolves through travel, refined technique, and Giorgio’s deeply personal perspective on Italian food.
Authentic Italian products form the foundation of our kitchen, complemented by exceptional ingredients from Northern Michigan whenever the season allows. Every ingredient is selected for quality, integrity, and flavor—never convenience.
The result is Italian cooking with genuine roots and a distinct sense of place: personal, seasonal, and unmistakably PepeNero. It is this uncompromising commitment that has made PepeNero the defining destination for Italian dining in Northern Michigan.
CHEF / CO-OWNER
Giorgio Lo Greco
For Chef and Owner Giorgio Lo Greco, Italian cooking begins with respect: for the ingredients, their origins, and the traditions behind them.
Born in Bagheria, Sicily, Giorgio’s connection to restaurants began remarkably early. At just seven years old, he started working in his family’s Trattoria Don Ciccio, a Bagheria institution rooted in generations of traditional Sicilian cooking and hospitality. It was there that his love for food, ingredients, and the simple art of making people feel welcome first took shape.
His career later took him beyond Sicily to fine-dining restaurants in London and aboard Princess Cruises, experiences that developed his appreciation for a more refined style of dining and service. After spending most of his life in Italy, Giorgio moved to the United States in 2011 and opened PepeNero in 2013.
Today, those worlds come together in his cooking. Giorgio seeks exceptional ingredients from both Italy and Northern Michigan and approaches Italian tradition through a contemporary lens—refining and reinterpreting it without losing its identity. For him, innovation only has meaning when it respects what came before it.
CO-OWNER / PASTRY CHEF / WINE DIRECTOR
Monica Lo Greco
Monica brings creativity, precision, and hospitality to every facet of PepeNero. She leads the pastry program, creating desserts rooted in Italian tradition with a refined, modern perspective, and curates the wine program around distinctive Italian producers and thoughtful pairings.
She also oversees daily operations, service, private dining, events, marketing, and the details that shape the guest experience. Her belief is that every element—from the final course and wine in the glass to the way a guest is welcomed—should feel intentional.
