There Black Music changed the life of Massimo Mauceri. "Matter of vibrations," he says. For all its existence, the pizza maker of Calabrian origins, who landed in Florence after long Roman years, has been divided between music studios, DJ consoles and the world of catering. Now on the premises of his Melloo, in Florence, has found a way to merge his two passions: the music and the kitchen. Here, in addition to listening to one of the records of his collection, customers can pay for dinner by exchanging their vinyls.

Vinyl Coin

The initiative is called Vinyl Coin and is only accessed if, at the time of booking through the portal Melloo the wording is inserted in the notes vinylcoin. We present ourselves with one or more used records, we have dinner choosing between pizzas or sandwiches such as the coveted Jamaican jerk, and then, before paying, we evaluate the vinyls with the staff. "We use an impartial classification system, linked to the Discogs.com site, also exposed on the walls, which takes into consideration the state of the vinyl and the cover, as well as the rarity of the album", explains Mauceri. The value of the discs is then discounted from dinner, up to total gratuity. There is also the possibility that the disc may be worth even more than its consumption: in those cases, vouchers would be issued to spend in the future in the room. "But it is difficult for someone to get rid of a precious disc in exchange for a pizza," adds Mauceri, a true collector. But, be careful: if you want to experiment with the vinyl coin formula, leave Baglioni's albums and Edoardo Vianello's 45 rpm collection at home. The only restrictions to be subject to the Melloo concern musical genres. "We accept everything that is Black Music and its derivatives, such as R&B, reggae, hip hop. If it is not a genre that interests us, we leave it to the client, unless the record has a story .

Passion and barter

The Vinyl Coin project started on June 20. In the first three days of the initiative, the Melloo collection was enriched with 25 specimens, but more than 200 titles were evaluated. "The idea of ​​charging a dinner with vinyl came to me during the lockdown. We were closed from 10 to 19 March, then I left with delivery. When I opened the venue last year, I wanted to put the records on as the identity element of the venue. Having a DJ experience, it came naturally to me. But to do a different thing, I decided to let people choose what to play. You can choose from my archive and listen to music in the restaurant. I have always bought records, but after the lockdown this natural act had become a luxury. So I thought maybe there was someone who wanted to get rid of them. " So why not swap them for a pizza or a burger?

During the first Vinyl Coin weekend, a lot of people who wanted to exchange records for dinner arrived. Two girls with 50 vinyl records, but none that interested the owner. But something new has entered: an original print of the Blues Brothers soundtrack, a Michael Jackson record, something of hip hop. Currently the average rating of the discs evaluated is around 2 euros. But Mauceri's satisfaction lies in something else. «I see 20-year-old boys, who have never seen vinyl, come in and be amazed. Or parents who come to take away, with young children in tow, who look at records and equipment (very serious, of course) as something similar to the gramophone ".

Along with a good record, there is no shortage of dishes not to be missed. Among the pizzas, there is the much desired Piennolo Gold, a reinterpretation of Naples with yellow tomato pacchetelle, buffalo mozzarella, added raw burrata and Cantabrian anchovies. Among the sandwiches, the Jamaican Jerk is very strong, a typical street food in the country where Mauceri would immediately take refuge, made with boned thighs and overcoats, marinated in soy sauce, lime, a mixture of spices including Jamaican allspice, cumin pepper and coriander , spicy sauce, then grilled and placed in the sandwich with cabbage and carrots, caesar sauce and chilli sauce. Two cymbals that, along with vinyls, sound damn good.

Text by Stefania Leo

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