“I don’t feel like an entrepreneur,” says Marco. As if that word were reserved for people with spreadsheets and growth strategies. But when he explains what drives him and his wife, you can definitely sense that entrepreneurial spirit. They want to work. They want to build. They want to move forward. For them, happiness isn’t found in the “future,” but in the rhythm of every day.
Start small, without a stage
Toscanella Apuana didn’t start out as a restaurant. It evolved into one over time. First, everything had to fall into place: the taste, the quality, and customers coming back. Only then did the opportunity arise to take the next step. Marco explains that in those early years, there was a program with the City of Maastricht that allowed the entrepreneurial couple to transition from a retail concept to a restaurant business. They seized that opportunity, but looking back, Marco doesn’t romanticize it. “Growth mainly requires taking matters into your own hands, adapting, and persevering.”
In 2018, the business became a restaurant. For Marco, this didn’t feel like a “leap,” but rather a logical next step. You start small, you learn, and you keep building. That pattern would resurface later, especially when things got tough.
COVID-19 pandemic
In 2020, Marco and Sara wanted to expand. They were moving toward opening a second location. The plan was all set. And then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and the lockdowns began.
That’s the setback you see in many entrepreneurial stories, but for them it’s especially painful because the timing is so harsh. Just as they’re creating room to grow, everything comes to a screeching halt. Marco explains that he and his wife are accumulating debt and that it will take them a long time to pay it off. He says it without fanfare. That’s exactly why it hits home: we keep going, even though we don’t know if next month will be any better.
“We started with nothing. Absolutely nothing.” For Marco and Sara, that sentence isn’t just a dramatic tagline. It’s their point of reference. “If you’re used to starting from scratch, you can keep going even when you have to go back to basics.”
Back to one place, moving forward with focus
After that period, Marco and Sara decided to narrow their focus. Not everything at once. Not everywhere. They’re concentrating everything back into a single location: Toscanella Apuana in Maastricht. There, they won’t be thinking “smaller,” but more strategically. They’re investing in the place that’s here to stay. TheThe restaurant is located in a historic building. That creates atmosphere, but it also requires choices you don’t see on Instagram. Marco talks about major changes to make their business run more smoothly: the kitchen, logistics, and the cellar for storage and refrigeration. They’re making the restaurant less about improvisation and more about organization.
The venue consists of several rooms. The main hall can accommodate about a hundred guests. That’s not just a fun fact—it’s scale. And scale means that during peak times, there’s no room for doubt: inventory has to be on point, the kitchen has to run smoothly, and the team has to be on the same page. Since January 2025, Marco says, he’s finally starting to see a real return on all those investments. Not because it’s suddenly easy, but because after years of building and paying it off, there’s finally room to breathe again.
“You have to be the best in your own business”
Marco doesn’t speak in management jargon. He speaks in principles. One of them sets a firm rule for the couple in their business: “You must always be the best person in your own company. Otherwise, it gets difficult.” They don’t mean you have to do everything yourself. They mean that you set the standard. Especially in the hospitality industry, where quality isn’t just about the food on the plate, but about ten small moments: how someone is greeted, how staff react when something goes wrong, whether the pace is right, or whether people feel seen.
Whatever Marco and Sara choose to avoid fits in with that principle. They don’t want a clichéd Italian setting. No decor meant to “play” Italy. He explains that guests sometimes asked for that, but the couple has consciously chosen to follow their own path. No little flags, but the food. No gimmicks, but quality. That’s their way of staying authentic without turning it into a show.
Continuity remains fragile
Toscanella Apuana has grown from a two-person operation into a company with employees. Marco describes this growth in stages: first one, then two, then three, then four. Now he mentions a team of about fifteen people. And then comes the word that keeps coming up in their story, even when they don’t mention it directly: continuity. Finding staff is getting harder. “Students are sometimes easier to find, but that also makes our team more volatile. And volatility costs stability. It costs momentum. It costs peace of mind.”
That’s why Marco and Sara emphasize something you can’t force with money alone. They say you have to pay well, but that connection is really about atmosphere and trust. About a workplace where people feel at home. They call it “family.” Not as a marketing buzzword, but as a way of working. “When you belong together, you’ve got each other’s backs. When things get busy, you stick together.” Marco tells the story of a Dutch employee who had to adjust at first. It felt “cold,” he says, a different way of thinking. Later, that same employee actually said that for the first time, he felt like part of a “family.” That moment speaks volumes. For Marco and Sara, that is the core of their approach to being employers: when you build that connection, you build continuity.
Costs are rising, and choices are becoming more difficult
Business owners point to rising costs. Labor is becoming more expensive, and energy and transportation costs are driving up the price of everything they purchase and use. This is forcing them to make tougher choices. They’re taking a more critical look at procurement and operations and seeking ways to work more efficiently. “Raising prices is an option,” they say, “but doing so also changes your customer base.” They feel this tension every day: you want to run a sustainable business, but you also want to remain accessible to a diverse range of guests. That makes it no simple calculation. It’s a choice that shapes your identity.
Rules are part of the deal, and so are risks
They take a practical approach to rules. “Hygiene and basic protocols are part and parcel of the hospitality industry. You’re running a business where people eat and drink. So everything has to be in order.” And Marco points out risks you can never completely eliminate. “Stock and inventory represent value. Employees are the heart of your business. And in the hospitality industry, there are risks that can quickly escalate, such as allergies or property damage.” For Marco and Sara, insurance is part of that reality. Not a luxury, but a foundation: “You build something up, and you want it to remain standing if something goes wrong.”
Not too far ahead, but moving forward
When the conversation turns to the future, Marco gets more personal. He says that making plans is difficult for them because there is so much uncertainty in the world. He talks about someone who calls in December to make a reservation for July—extremely early. His reaction reflects their outlook on life: “How can you plan that far ahead when you don’t know how life will unfold?”
Their conclusion isn’t that you’re not working toward anything. “It’s that you also have to live for today. You have to do what’s necessary today to make it through tomorrow.” And when they boil it all down to a single word, it rings loud and clear: “Self-confidence.” No lengthy explanation follows. It’s already embedded in their story. Starting with nothing. Persevering anyway. Daring to get back to basics. Investing in what endures. And making that same choice every single day: to build, rather than pretend you’ve already arrived.
