SALT LAKE CITY — Simone Fontecchio hurried out of the Utah Jazz locker room Tuesday.

The Italian wing had just helped the Jazz close out the Oklahoma City Thunder (in what would be his final game in a Jazz jersey, no less) but he didn’t have too much time to celebrate.

After all, Matteo Ristorante Italiano doesn’t stay open that late.

“I’m on my way there now,” said Fontecchio as he walked out of the locker room.

That made it four straight days — if not more — Fontecchio had made an appearance at the recently opened Salt Lake City restaurant.

So consider this Fontecchio’s parting gift to the Jazz fan base: an Italian restaurant recommendation.

A few weeks ago, after a game, I approached Fontecchio with the idea of doing a story on his favorite Italian restaurants in Utah. Assuming he would need at least some time to think things over, I asked if we could talk after an upcoming practice or shootaround.

“We can do it right now — it’s Matteo!” he said.

Turns out, Matteo Ristorante Italiano — which is named after 27-year-old owner Matteo Sogne — has more than a few admirers in the Utah Jazz organization.

Coach Will Hardy, Luka Samanic, Johnny Juzang, Micah Potter, and vice president of global scouting Luca Desta, a close friend of Sogne’s, are all frequent visitors to the restaurant located at 439 E. 900 South (Fontecchio and Kelly Olynyk were very much a part of that group before last week’s trades). And Walker Kessler just had his first visit this weekend.

“Simone has been telling me about it for a while. And for all of my Italian food recommendations, he’s a pretty good one to listen to,” Kessler said.

The story of Matteo is a pretty good one, too.

Sogne first came to Salt Lake City in 2016 to swim for the University of Utah (“20 pounds ago,” he quipped). He came for education and sport; he stayed because he fell in love with the place.

He could ski in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and then work at night. How many other places could he do that? Then there were the people. He loved the community spirit Salt Lake City provided — so why leave? He could just start a restaurant in a place that was feeling more and more like home.

In early 2020, he was close to doing just that; he was under contract for a building that would be the home of his very own place.

There is bad timing — and then there is that.

“I was like, ‘Nah, man, not gonna happen. Not a chance in the world,'” Sogne said.

A worldwide pandemic temporarily delayed his dream, but it didn’t crush it. Instead of growing frustrated about the situation, he decided he could use a couple more years of experience anyway.

He became a manager at Celeste Ristorante in Murray, helping them survive the pandemic by building an online ordering system. Afterward, he spent over a year as the general manager at Osteria Amore, where he first struck up a friendship with Fontecchio.

After that, he felt ready to do it himself — along with some family help, of course.

Matteo is a family place. Sogne’s mother cooks the bread every morning; and his father and sister work in the restaurant, too (the three came over from Italy in August to help him prep for the opening).

For Sogne, a family-filled spot was the only option.

When he was growing up, his grandmother helped out in the restaurant across the street, making pounds upon pounds of fresh pasta every day.

“First memory is her chasing me around with a five-foot rolling pin,” Sogne said with a smile.

The lasagna on the menu is his grandmother’s recipe, and his grandfather has pulled some strings back in Italy to make Matteo truly unique. His grandfather was the CFO at Parmigiano Reggiano for 15 years, and, according to Sogne, “They still give him all the really good stuff.”

That stuff finds its way to Matteo.

The restaurant uses a 36-month Parmigiano Reggiano for its dishes; Sogne believes his restaurant is the only one in America that can make that claim.

“It’s the best one in the world; it’s No. 168. They pick it for us in Italy wheel by wheel and they only send the best ones,” Sogne said.

Sogne’s grandfather also connected him with a mill in Italy to make flour specially for the Salt Lake City restaurant.

“It’s made in Italy just for us according to the humidity and the altitude of Salt Lake City so the pasta stays al dente,” Sogne said. “It’s a process only for Michelin Star restaurants in Italy. And we’re the only ones in America that have that kind of flour — cost me a fortune, but it’s flour. I’m an Italian restaurant, if I don’t make perfect pasta, I might as well not be open.”

That cost, though, doesn’t seem to have fallen to the customers. Michelin Star quality comes at pretty fair prices at Matteo. Sogne’s grandma’s lasagna costs $25, and the risotto modena is on the pasta menu’s higher side at $32.

“There are a lot of good restaurants in Utah which are twice-a-year restaurants because they’re so expensive. … I want to be a twice-a-week kind of restaurant,” Sogne said. “You can come in after work — a pasta and a salad is like $40. Instead of door-dashing stuff at home, you can just stop by, you have a great plate of pasta, great salad, $40.”

Those in the Jazz organization are doing just that — and so are plenty of others. Most new restaurants fail; that’s the nature of the industry. To succeed, some restaurant owners have to be prepared to lose money for up to five years.

Matteo is not like other restaurants.

“We didn’t lose a penny,” a flabbergasted Sogne said. “We’ve made money since the day we opened.”

What was the secret? He wishes he knew.

Sogne didn’t do any marketing or even host a grand opening. He opened the doors on Sept. 14 hoping a few stragglers may stop by; and, to his surprise, 60 people showed up. More and more have been coming ever since.

“It’s a small place (it sits 84 people), so it’s easier to fill, but not a clue,” Sogne said. “I didn’t send any text. I had a list of people at home that I wanted to invite to the grand, but I didn’t even have the chance.”

There may be a new sign at Matteo following the Jazz’s moves last week, though.

Ahead of the deadline, Sogne jokingly warned Desta that if the team trades Fontecchio, he’s going to put the VP of scouting’s face on a “not welcome” sign at the door.

“So you want to be careful with that,” Sogne joked.

So for those wanting to try Matteo, some reservations may have just opened up.