Born in Amsterdam, New York, Big Tony grew up surrounded by the sights and smells of his family's bustling meat market - where his lifelong passion for creating exceptional food first took root.
In the 1950s, when his family moved to Las Vegas, Tony's culinary journey truly began. He joined the United States Marine Corps in the 1960s, serving as a baker and honing skills that would define his career.
After his military service, Big Tony launched Big Tony's BBQ and quickly became a Nevada legend. He owned and operated dozens of restaurants, including the iconic LuLu's Dining Room at Mountain Springs - a mountaintop landmark beloved by locals and visitors alike that became a rite of passage for anyone who loved real Nevada barbecue.
His trophy case tells the rest of the story: multiple Clark County Rib Burn-Off championships in the 1990s, countless chili titles, and a reputation for the best barbecue in the state.
In the 1980s, Big Tony's son Dominic came aboard to stay. He apprenticed at his father's side for more than three decades, soaking up every trick of the pit and every family recipe. Raised among the smoke and sizzle of Las Vegas barbecue, Dominic later lived in the stark, quiet outpost of Tecopa, California -an experience few ever have. Those desert nights and open-fire lessons rounded out his education and deepened his feel for real frontier cooking. Today, Dominic carries the Big Tony tradition forward with the same hands-on passion that made his dad a legend.
For decades, Big Tony and Dominic's Western-themed catering brought authentic frontier flavor to events of every size with the slogan "Support Wild Life, Throw A Party." Cooking over open fires in cast-iron Dutch ovens, complete with a full chuck-wagon setup and a pop-up Western town, father and son fed crowds from intimate backyard gatherings (including the District Attorneys Convention in Rex Bell's own yard) to massive celebrations serving 10,000 people a day at Nevada Day and other Las Vegas spectacles. Year after year, hundreds of corporate events relied on the Big Tony name to deliver unforgettable barbecue to thousands.
What has always set Big Tony apart is an unwavering commitment to quality: every sauce, rub, side, and cut of meat is made fresh by hand - the same way it's been done since the beginning.
Today, with Dominic now carrying the torch, that same dedication to superb, from-scratch cooking lives on at Big Tony's Supper House in Beatty, Nevada - one plate at a time.
Come hungry. Leave happy. That's the Big Tony way!
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