人兽性交

The Auburn native and entrepreneur is now working on opening the 10th venture of Refined Restaurant Group, which he co-owns.

It's a third location of聽Saint Honor茅, a patisserie specializing in brioche doughnuts and French Quarter-style beignets, Jerome told 人兽性交 during a phone interview earlier this month.

"The concept," he said, "is what if Louis Vuitton had opened a doughnut shop?"

His wife, Lin Jerome, and their business partner, Alexandra "Alex" Lourdes, run Saint Honor茅. It also has an artisan pizza component called Pizza Anonymous.

The shop, which pulls its name from the French patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs, has the potential to expand, Jerome said. The next big step is taking the concept to a new city. People buying treats on their travels and bringing them home to share with others is priceless, he continued. Once, Lin called him to share her excitement over seeing passengers on a plane toting Saint Honor茅 boxes.

"That's the ultimate," he said. "People are coming for our doughnuts and taking them back."

Refined Restaurant Group was founded almost a decade ago. Jerome described it as collaborative, but the four partners trust each other鈥檚 judgment and tend to 鈥渟tay in their lane鈥� when it comes to their respective areas of expertise. Along with the Jeromes and Lourdes is the latter's husband, Michael Santos, who oversees finances and human resources.

"We got into crowded spaces 鈥� doughnuts, coffee, pizza, Italian and Mexican,"聽Jerome said. "Nothing we've done is reinventing any wheels. We're not doing things better, but differently."

The group's restaurants also include Caf茅 Lola, a casual European-style cafe; 3 Little Chicks, a fast-casual chicken sandwich-focused restaurant; Emilio's, a Mexican restaurant paying homage to Lourdes' father that blends the food, flavor and cultures of Mexico; and Sorellina Cucina Italiana, an upscale, full-service Italian restaurant.

"Sorellina," which translates to "little sister" in Italian, pays homage to Jerome鈥檚 mother, Ada Jerome, who was the youngest of eight children. It also features family recipes, like his aunt's Italian cookies.

"We have these old-world, homestyle flavors, but they are presented in a way that looks like a restaurant and not my mom's Sunday dinners,"聽Jerome said.

At Sorellina, like its other restaurants, the group's success boils down to consistency and simplicity, Jerome said.

"It's not throwing 100 things in a dish," he said. "It's four or five premium ingredients and letting them show."

Where it all began

Jerome鈥檚 story begins well before he was born. His maternal grandparents, the late Eupremio and Lucia Zizza, were living in Fragagnano, a small town in southern Italy.聽

Eupremio and his oldest daughter moved to the United States in the 1960s. He settled in Auburn, began working and saved money to bring the rest of his family over two years later. That's when Lucia and their seven other children, including 6-year-old Ada, moved into a home on Jefferson Street. Ada would eventually meet James 鈥淵ogi鈥� Jerome, an Auburn native, and with him have three children.

Following a trip to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s, Yogi and Ada relocated to Nevada with their two youngest children. The family still lives there today. But Steve, the oldest, continued to live in Auburn with relatives. He was entering his junior year at Auburn High School, and wanted to finish up his education and continue playing baseball.

In 1998, he attended the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees in hospitality. Years later he was an adjunct professor, and through his brother met Lin.

Jerome doesn't shy away from admitting he's not a professional chef. Despite knowing how to cook, that's not who he is.

But he has worked in several areas of the hospitality industry, from bussing and serving to bartending and eventually becoming a beverage manager. He's also opened restaurants and overseen them under renowned chefs Wolfgang Puck, Elizabeth Blau and her husband, Kim Canteenwalla. "The pinnacle," Jerome said, was working for Steve Wynn, the developer known for his luxury hotels and casinos.

While his career is based in Las Vegas, Jerome always finds his way back to Auburn. He'll be back this month for the graduation of the son of high school friend Nick Musso, co-owner of A.T. Walley & Co.

Returning to the Finger Lakes is meaningful for Jerome not only because of the memories and the opportunity to see family and friends. It's also important for his and Lin's 6-year-old daughter, Margaux, to see where it all started for her father. Whether she follows him into the hospitality industry or not, they want her to know that nothing is easy and success only comes with hard work and passion.聽

"Vegas is where we planted our tree," he said, "but Auburn will always be home."