It takes less than a New York minute – about the time it takes her to say ‘Hello! How ‘ya doin’?’ — to know that Nan Lynch is not from the south and wager a pretty good guess where she grew up. “I’m originally from Brooklyn and lived in Jersey for a while so I’ve got both.”

From a young age she was also deeply absorbed into her stepmother’s large – and loud – Italian family, all of which makes her the pretty perfect general manager for Vinnie’s South, owned by another former Brooklynite Eric Scheffer.

Nearly 30 years living in North Carolina has not diminished the accent or the delivery. “People down here will ask me why I’m yelling. I’m not yelling! That’s my inside voice,” she says with a laugh. “When you’re at a table with a big, loud Italian family, you have to speak up to get a word in.”

Nan’s entry to the hospitality industry did not begin with a summer job in diner, but was sparked by a midlife crisis after 15 years in the construction business. “I was a dry waller by trade and knew I didn’t want to do that anymore but had no idea what to do instead.”

Friends and family were quick to tell her what they thought she should do. “They pointed out that I was always cooking, and how much I loved to cook and said I should go to culinary school. I worried I was too old to go back to school, but I did it anyway.”  She enrolled in the Art Institute of Charlotte, where she had been living since 1993, and earned degrees in Culinary and Business of Restaurant and Hotel Management.

The Omni Grove Park Inn brought her to Asheville in 2013 as a banquet chef, but she later left for a position as executive chef for a private company that ran recovery centers for older professionals, landing in Mills River.

She jump started an alternative food and nutrition program geared to people in recovery, but the 70-hour weeks led her to seek a better work/life balance as a sous chef at Deerfield Retirement Community. “With my knowledge of nutrition and lifestyle diets for older people, it was a great fit, and I restructured their culinary program.”

The years of working in construction and kitchens took their toll and when she was diagnosed with rheumatoid and osteo arthritis, she was told she had to make a change.

“I couldn’t be in the kitchen anymore, but I didn’t want to leave food and the industry,” she says. She saw an ad for a host position at the soon-to-open Scheffer’s south Asheville iteration of the original Vinnie’s Italian he opened in North Asheville in 2010; she was at the host stand from the third day of business.

“I was glad to get my foot in the door, but it was a bit of a blow to my ego to go from chef positions to host and I struggled for months. But someone from Eric’s restaurant group noticed I was having a hard time and gave me some great advice. ‘Nan, this is your expo. Run it.’ And it all clicked.”

She saw the bigger picture of the position, applied her back of house experience to front of house and took ownership of the role. That included not just keeping track of available tables and servers, but checking in with the kitchen to see if they were backed up before seating new diners.

She was promoted to assistant general manager, then in August, was named general manager, which means she covers the field wherever she is needed. She was happy to spend time in the kitchen recently when a new chef came on board and she was by his side, helping him learn the ‘Vinnie’s way’ of doing things.

That applies to front of house too. “From the beginning, I made mental notes of where people like to sit, which ones prefer a booth, and which prefer a table. Some prefer a particular server. You learn the wine or cocktail they like to start with, and you remember their names. We want people to feel like they’re walking into our house and are part of the family.”

Even if that means raising your voice a bit. “When people who have never been here come in and say they’d like a nice quiet table, I want to say, ‘You know you’re in an Italian family restaurant, right?’ It reminds me of home.”

What to order according to Nan Lynch

Arancini: Lots of people don’t know what it is, but I grew up with it, so I can describe it head to toe and I tell people if they’ve never had one, they’re missing out.

Spaghetti with Sunday Gravy: My nonna made the gravy – we don’t call it sauce —  every week from Friday to Sunday, and for Sunday family dinner. If people want that NY Italian family experience you have to get the Sunday gravy, it warms your soul.

Chicken Parmigiana: The chicken parm over spaghetti is on the menu, but I tell people to take it up to another level and order it over fettuccine alfredo. They always thank me.

Italian White Cake: We make all our desserts in house and they’re all delicious, but the white cake with the cream, coconut, and almond is the real deal.

More on Vinnie’s South. 

— Kay West

Photos  1 and 2 courtesy of The Scheffer Group, photo 3 courtesy of Warner Photograpy
First photo: Nan Lynch in the Vinnie’s South dining room
Second photo:  Nan Lynch in the kitchen
Third photo:  Italian Wedding Cake