Ambassadors

David Campisi owns and operates Campisi’s, Dallas’s oldest and most successful Italian restaurant. Prior to owning  Campisi’s, David worked for his grandfather, Joe, learning every aspect of restaurant operations. With over 30 years of experience as a restaurant industry leader, David has since dedicated his life to becoming a community leader through the family business. As the fourth-generation owner of Campisi’s, he has ushered this Dallas institution into the 21st Century, expanding his great-grandfather’s vision from his original family-dining restaurant into ten locations throughout the DFW area. Even today, growing Campisi’s brand is a cornerstone of his life’s plan, especially when concentrating on the family business plan his motto is “leave the place better than you got it.”

Under David’s leadership, Campisi’s has won many local and national awards for Best Pizza and Best Italian Food, including Bon Appetite Magazine’s “One of the Best Pizzerias in America.”  

In addition to operating Campisi’s, David lives by his own mission that success is measured by the lives impacted and the communities improved through philanthropy.

For years David has supported major programs including the American Heart Association, Winners for Life Foundation, Dallas and Fort Worth zoos, local police and firefighters, Frontiers of Flight Museum, Mad Hatters Tea & Luncheon supporting the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Junior League of Dallas, Salesmanship Club, Ronald McDonald House and many more.

While it’s true that much of David’s philanthropy is reflected through and carried out with the help of others, there are many more service projects that he prefers to perform personally and anonymously. These projects include feeding the poor at Dallas soup kitchens and supporting local catholic parishes, such as St. Monica, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic churches and his kid’s school, St. Rita. He also enjoys supporting Fellowship Church and in its many ministries. However, his “secret heart” goes to the Discalced Carmelite Nuns in Dallas. “They have my heart,” David says, “so I support them fully and take care of them more than anyone else in the city.” David is also involved in many initiatives in the DFW area, increasing educational opportunities and promoting economic development.

He serves on the Board of the Nancy Lieberman Foundation, was on the Alcuin School Board of Trustees, is part of the ambassador program for SOWF Honoring Service and Sacrifice and was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Bishop Lynch High School in 2014. David works hard to grow relationships based on trust, transparency, and respect. His turnover is virtually nonexistent thanks to a managerial style that focuses on empowering his employees with a sense of ownership. However, the success behind Campisi’s has always been rooted in old-fashioned traits such as community service and “handshakes and hellos.”

David works closely with the Restaurant Hotel Institutional Management program to provide advice and training for future service professionals.

David’s focus areas include developing corporate vision and culture, restaurant operations and finances, and sales and profitability.

David earned his bachelor’s degree in Restaurant Hotel Institutional Management from Texas Tech in 1992 and currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Niki, son, Joe, and daughter, Mila.