Podcast: Hilton Head Chef/Owner Amanda Cifaldi
Some conversations just feel easy—and catching up with Amanda Cifaldi is always one of those. The chef/owner of Pomodori is now 15 years in, and still very much in the daily grind of making it all work.
We started with Heritage week, which she says has actually become more manageable over the years thanks to better logistics. Busy, yes—but steady. And that word, steady, really defines where things are right now.
Because the bigger conversation is affordability. Costs are up across the board—food, labor, everything—and there’s no easy fix. Amanda’s answer? Work harder behind the scenes. She’s now juggling multiple vendors just to keep prices in check without passing too much onto the guest.
“You have to fight for every dollar,” she said—and she meant it.
Interestingly, seasonality isn’t what it used to be. Business stays consistent most of the year, with the crowd simply shifting from locals to tourists depending on the season.
And yes, sometimes you just give people what they want—hello, chicken Alfredo in the summer.
Fifteen years in, it’s still about balance: quality, consistency, and doing whatever it takes to keep the doors open.
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