Here is how you measure success in the restaurant business – or any other kind of business.

“Our family philosophy has always been, if it’s not going to be the best then we aren’t going to serve it,” said Jerry Costanza. “Amazing service combined with incredible and consistent high-quality food is the secret recipe for success.”

Costanza and his “amazing team” found that secret recipe long before opening La Bistecca in 1998. But they’ve taken it to another level with the popular upscale Italian dining room on Plymouth Road by doing what they do best – only serving the best.

“Many people who return and liked us before are amazed that we are even better,” Costanza said. “Our regular customers come here for special occasions and big events and we have a responsibility to make it a great night for them.”

La Bistecca is the true definition of a family owned and run business. Jerry’s father, Jerry, and his mother, Joyce, bought the restaurant, with the kids – Jerry, Robert and Carla – being key ingredients in the business’s growth and success.

“We built this place as a family and everyone deserves credit for how successful it’s been,” Jerry said. “I have such an incredible crew and my job is to stay out of their way.”

Costanza was raised in the restaurant business. His parents owned and operated restaurants as far back as the early 1960s with a pizza parlor in Livonia.

“My parents owned multiple Big Boy restaurants in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, and they were very successful and that’s where I grew up,” Jerry said.

The Costanza family opened La Bistecca on December 17, 1998.

“This kind of restaurant was something my dad always wanted,” Jerry said.

Jerry’s dad passed away only three years after opening La Bistecca, but the family continued to run the day-to-day operations.

“My sister was here with me at the time and we put a plan together on how to run the business,” Jerry said. “This is when I discovered how to create the DNA of a restaurant.”

Part of that DNA was home grown.

“I’ve finally got to the point in life where I feel like I have put in motion all the lessons my dad taught me,” Jerry said, getting a little emotional.

His mom is still a big part of the restaurant.

“At 85 years old, she is here all the time and helping out,” he said. “She still decorates the place and is always cleaning and wants to help out wherever she can.”

Costanza also is very proud of the work his current Executive Chef Eric Marria has done in the kitchen for more than a decade.

“He’s been instrumental in the last 10 years solidifying my vision through procedure and consistency out of the kitchen,” Jerry said. “He’s developed a system in the back that produces an incredibly awesome product every time.”

La Bistecca serves a particular brand of cattle called the Piedmontese breed, which is unique in its naturally occurring genetic makeup.

“This is a breed that the Amish raise because of their need for work animals on the farm,” Costanza said. “There is a company in Ohio that raises the Piedmontese breed and we went down there before we opened here because we wanted the best steaks.”

The secret is also in the sauce.

“Detroit Zip sauce is a closely guarded secret and we’ve had the recipe in our family for 40 years,” Jerry said. “We put this sauce on the Piedmontese beef and it was like magic. We couldn’t believe how good it tasted. Within just a few months of opening we discovered this combination and we knew we had our signature taste.”