During Shaz Khan’s first semester at the University of Minnesota, he got an A- in a computer science class. Not bad, right? Shaz was devastated. “I actually shed some tears,” he says.

A high school valedictorian, Khan (B.E.E. ’07) was used to getting pluses, not minuses. So, he looked at the majors with the highest average salaries, saw that electrical engineering was in the top three, and made the switch.

As it turns out, Khan’s career as an electrical engineer was short-lived. Instead, the skills he developed through his technical background helped him become a successful restaurateur. A decade ago, he teamed up with his best friend and now business partner, Antonio Gambino, and ventured into the food world.

“They say don’t do business with friends,” says Khan, who is president and cofounder of Frank & Andrea and Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks restaurants. “I feel like that’s bad advice, because who better to test the unknown with than somebody that you call a friend? Because the basis of friendship is trust.”

A desire to innovate

Born and raised in Minnesota, Khan worked in engineering after college, but his heart wasn’t in it.

When Gambino approached him about partnering up to open a pizza/ cheesesteak restaurant, Khan was intrigued: take a new job with prestige, salary, and stability, or “go after something that, frankly, I know absolutely nothing about.”

Luckily, Gambino—whose family has roots in Philadelphia and Sicily, and who has owned Andrea Pizza in Minneapolis since the 1990s—had access to century-old family recipes and was passionate about developing new ones.

Khan had never had a cheesesteak, so the two friends went to Philly to do research, where they sampled food from famed outlets like Pat’s King of Steaks and Geno’s Steaks. They came back ready to build something together, combining Gambino’s kitchen skills with Khan’s systems thinking.

Building a legacy, respecting tradition

In 2016, Khan and Gambino debuted Frank & Andrea in Dinkytown, specializing in giant slices of New York-style pizza and Philly cheesesteaks. They went on to create Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks and grew it to 10 locations across the Twin Cities metro area. Bestsellers include the margherita pizza and the South Philly cheesesteak.

“I truly feel like I was built for this,” says Khan, who notes he and Gambino are opening two more Tono locations, one more Frank & Andrea outlet, and a new restaurant concept this year. “We love creating plans and certainty out of the chaos and uncertainty that is growth and evolution.”

Khan has brought his engineer’s approach to growing the business: methodical, strategic, and purposeful. That same mind that once shed tears over an A- now sees uncertainty as opportunity.

“I love building systems and watching the impact they have on streamlining operations and helping people excel at their jobs,” Khan says. “I’m building a hospitality company built on values, intentionality, and accountability.”

He’s also committed to honoring the Gambino family legacy. “You can’t fake these family recipes that have been around for 100 years. You can’t fake the story and the passion.”

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