| My brother Joey and I were born in Chicago, IL Also known as “The Windy City”, “The City of Broad Shoulders” and “Second city”.
Our parents: Pasquale and Josephine DeVenuto are both “off the boat” from Southern Italy. They came to this country like most immigrants for opportunity and a better future for their kids. Our father Pasquale worked in a factory on the south side for over 30 years and our mother Joesephine was an Italian stay at home mom fully equipped with wooden spoons to keep us kids in line. For those of you not familiar, that is the weapon of choice for an Italian mother of 5. They worked very hard our whole lives to be sure we had opportunities and took advantage of those opportunities.
There were 5 kids in the DeVenuto home Frankie, Mike, Maria, Joey and Angela. We are a very close family and like any good Italian family we lived blocks from most of our Aunts, Uncles and cousins. Our tight knit family held together by Grandparents Ida and Michele Martino, the glue of our family.
Joey and I were always very close despite the difference in age. I am 11 years older than Joey and much more attractive. I owned a small pizzeria in my 20’s and Joey would come to work with me everyday after school. He was 9 years old! I have a picture in my office that I love to point out to clients of him standing in the pizzaria kitchen. I think this is where he got his passion for food. You see soon after H.S. Joey was at that point where you have to decide what you are going to do now? He decided to go to culinary school. He also found himself a job at a small restaurant in Chicago’s Little Italy on Taylor Street. Famous for fine Italian cuisine Taylor Street was a hotbed of nightlife. After culinary school he soon replaced the head chef of Café Viaggio’s and was loving his life. He was 20 years old and a head chef. But there was something missing, his older brother, who was looking for opportunity in sunny Arizona.
Joe and I have this too in common neither of us was exactly sure about what we were going to do after H.S. Sure I tried college but Illinois State University soon realized they had made a mistake. You see I’m not much for the books I was not the university type. I was soon put on academic probation and flunked out. I tried the restaurant business for a few years, starting a pizzeria and then I worked with my dad in the factory for almost 5 years before deciding to move to AZ.
Moving to Arizona changed my life. Soon after arriving here I met my beautiful wife Maria and after a few years of contracting for the phone company I decided to start another business, Platinum Ride Limousines. People always ask me why limos? I really don’t have an answer I met a guy who was getting out of the business and I bought his limo. After a few years I had grown the business to a fleet of 4 with one of the first H2’s in the valley. This was about the time Joey was missing me.
Joe had been out to see me on and off and he liked it. The weather and those ASU girls will get you every time. He decided to move out and got a job as a chef at a small Italian restaurant in phoenix. It didn’t take long before he got the bug and asked to be a part of Platinum Rides and quit the restaurant biz.
At that time we were still small potatoes in the limo business. But not for long, we expanded from 4 to 10 limos pretty quickly and people were taking notice. Overtime we grew to 20 limousines and party buses. Together we fashioned the company to be the newest and most exotic fleet in the valley. We weren’t looking to be the biggest we wanted to be the best.
One thing Joe and I had learned over the years from our family is if you work hard you will earn peoples trust and respect. That is our goal, we want to represent our family back home and here. We have built something we are very proud of but we’re not done yet.
Over the years our clients tastes have changed and now Party Buses are what they want! We are proud to announce our newest additions nicknamed “NITE TRAIN, BIG CITY, FEDERAL and coming soon BOOM BOOM! These are the hottest Party Buses in AZ.
Times are tough, this economy makes it difficult but we are coming with the best fleet in AZ and the best service. We are working hard to earn your trust and respect.
We are going to do a great job for you.
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