At 14, Alessio DiFranco began working at McDonald’s and started his career in the food industry. A few years later, he left to work for a family-run Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, where he honed his skills in serving, cooking, and restaurant management.

In 2004, motivated by his desire to advance and better the industry, he graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in hospitality. After graduating, he continued his career with KFC, where he was quickly promoted to Area Coach and ultimately became the proud owner of the store he had once led.

While building a new restaurant in Macedonia, Ohio, Alessio discovered a stubborn problem that would spark an innovation. Finding himself washing dishes several nights in a row, he was frustrated by the laborious and time-consuming task of cleaning 1/3 and 1/6 pans encrusted with baked-on macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and gravy. After many long nights, Alessio quickly realized traditional methods just weren’t cutting it.

From the beginning, Alessio has always been intuitively interested in how the industry worked and driven to adapt and improve the tools that supported it. He believes that any idea, no matter how strange or seemingly unattainable, can come from anybody and anywhere and become a reality with creativity and determination. This idea is the foundation that DiFranco Innovations, LLC employs. With creativity as a driving force and a little grit, even the most implausible ideas can become a reality.