Jersey City’s Jono Pandolfi
2020 was a year that saw so many heroically good deeds from Jersey City residents. That includes craftsman Jono Pandolfi.
Working with a team of 7 fellow artisans in his Union City Studio on Palisades Ave. since 2004, Pandolfi’s stunning ceramic dishware is used by the finest restaurants and hotels across the globe. His client list (you can check it out on his website) is truly staggering. With the restaurant industry devasted in 2020, this small business owner responded by donating roughly $25, 000 to local relief organizations. And that is not all – last month he raffled off a collection of some of his most iconic pieces with 100 percent of the profits going to ROAR (Relief Opportunities for All Restaurants). Pandolfi has collaborated on customized dinnerware for many of the most high-profile chefs out there – Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park), April Bloomfield (Tosca Café), and Wylie Dufresne (WD-50), and Jeon-Georges Vongerichten (Jean-Georges Restaurants) are among the dozens. In prior years, non-industry folks could come to his open studios to meet the team and shop one-of-a-kind pieces, seconds, and overstock from custom restaurant jobs. While that is on pause now, you can still shop his beautiful collections via his website. Now is the perfect time to do so – supporting a local business and treating yourself to something special. Alongside his classic collections of dinnerware and home accessories, there is a limited-edition series of new products borne out of experimenting with new techniques during the quiet of last year. We highly recommend checking out his shop online at www.jonopandolfi.com.