Piada Spotlight | CD

Meet Cuong Do. More famously known as “CD” here at Piada, he proudly boasts the title as our longest-tenured employee! Most often seen cheffin’ it up behind the grill at our Upper Arlington location, CD has been pivotal in Piada’s growth from day one. A key member of our National Training Team, CD has traveled the country sharing the Piada way with new team members in cities such as Houston, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Cincinnati and more.

CD’s story begins in Vietnam where he was born and raised for much of his childhood with his parents. His father voyaged to the U.S. in 1975 and established citizenship, moving the entire family over 12 years later. Together, they lived in Clintonville with his younger sister who was born in Columbus, but they still have strong ties to their home in Vietnam.

“I visited Vietnam in 2009 and 2012 and would love to go back again to see my family, my cousins, my uncles and my aunts. When I’m there we just hang out and eat Vietnamese food— my favorite is Bánh Mì or Chicken Pho.”

CD’s neighbor first connected him with the Piada family when he was actively looking for a new job opportunity. He began working with Bravo Brio Restaurant group in 2005 and the rest is history! Chris Doody, Piada’s Founder & CEO, brought CD on to our very first restaurant team in Upper Arlington and he has remained an important part of our company’s culture.

“I thank God for giving me a job and am thankful for the Doody family that helped me out a lot. I really enjoy working with Piada. I’ve learned a lot here.”

CD is drawn to the fresh food and team-oriented environment at Piada. Heading into his eleventh year on the team, he still enjoys eating the food, especially the BLT or Avocado Piada with crispy chicken. His favorite part of the job though is the people. We like to think CD has never met a stranger and shared with us that when he walks into any of our Columbus restaurants he will oftentimes be greeted with an enthusiastic, “Wuddup CD!”.

“People make me happy. The Guests make me happy. My team makes me happy. I love it here.”

CD genuinely loves to work and he works very hard, coming in to cover open shifts and supporting his team whenever he can. In his free time, he admittedly catches up on sleep, but when it’s football season, you can bet CD is watching The Ohio State Buckeyes. A diehard fan, especially of OSU’s previous head coach Jim Tressel, CD never misses an OSU football game.

In addition to his love for the Buckeyes, CD also has an eclectic music taste and loves everything from Dr Dre to Shania Twain. He also enjoys watching a wide array of Youtube videos, including Chef Emeril, when he’s not cooking up your favorite menu items at Piada himself. While on a work trip to New Orleans, he even met Emeril (we love a celebrity encounter story) and he of course had to hold himself back from introducing himself to the Chef with an enthusiastic “BAM!”