Susan Lunetta was 16 when she started modeling, but her fashion sense was launched at the age of 3. Today, at 43, this Buffalo native—yes, Lunetta’s Restaurant in North Buffalo is her family’s business—runs Exxcel Model and Talent agency, headquartered in Amherst with offices in Miami, Dallas, Boston and New York. That alone sounds impressive, but wait until you see what else has kept her life busy.

PeopleTalk:What’s it like growing up with a restaurant in the family?

Susan Lunetta:There was always spaghetti sauce and pasta in the house. Cooking was always my passion and dream. I just love the creativity, but it’s one of those things. You have to be really young to work in a kitchen. It’s very physical, and at one point I realized I needed to branch out.

PT: But you still cook.

SL:I do. I have my own private stock that I cook at home for friends and family. I’ve started my own cookbooks, healthy eating. I’m taking all my recipes and converting them to 100 percent clean eating—for the model’s life, of course.

PT: You also created ice carvings?

SL:I did that for five years, all major events. I did the opening of Pilot Field, did a nice carving for Gov.[Mario] Cuomo. It was intense. I was the only carver. My toughest carving was Buster Bison. His bat was not connected to the main part of ice. It was incredibly fragile. It broke, and I had to make another one.

PT: You were a Girl Scout, too, I imagine.

SL:Of course, and a Barbizon model. I think all little girls started at Barbizon. I did the local shows, and because I am not 5-8,I would do the furs. I’ve done several infomercials.

PT: What led to modeling?

SL:Since I was 3, I’ve had fashion shows. My obsession was my clothing. I loved going to Sunday Mass because I used to sit on the aisle and watch people walk up to Communion. I looked at their shoes, deciding if I liked them or didn’t like them. My grandmother was a fashionista.

PT:And now you have your own agency.

SL:Correct. I started the business on my cell phone, and used the restaurant’s banquet room as a meeting place. I began recruiting and training.

PT: That is against all odds. Is that characteristic of you?

SL:Yes. I didn’t really look at too much of the big picture. I basically knew what I wanted and went after my goals. In my first group of trainees was Chad Michael Murray, Buffalo’s film superstar. He’s from Clarence and he appeared in “Freaky Friday,” “A Cinderella Story,” “Gilmore Girls.”

PT:What did you see in him?

SL:I knew he had appeal. The girls just loved him. He never really wanted to be an actor. He just wanted to model, and we did a fashion show at The Pier, and he comes walking down the runway. I’ll never forget the look on his face. He was loving the attention. He had the spark.

PT: That’s what you look for?

SL:Absolutely. That’s the common denominator in everyone who actually books a job. It’s energy and confidence, and it’s in their eyes. It’s not a specific look. It’s a vibrancy you cannot fake.

PT:Do you make people over?

SL:You have to, because what walks in the door always needs something, some kind of grooming, working out or diet change. It’s mental, physical, emotional. Everything has to be taken care of in order to make it in this business.

PT:Now you have plans for a sixth office?

SL:I’ll be opening in L. A. in February. I’ve been thinking about that for several years, but with “All My Children”moving to L. A., I really have no choice if I want to keep my client. We have a lot of Western New Yorkers who are getting their first chance on camera through “All My Children.” The casting director is a very good friend of mine and he comes to Buffalo on a regular basis.

PT:With your schedule, you need a lot of energy. Do you work out?

SL:I survive on Sencha, the little concentrated can of green tea. It really works, plus it makes your hair and nails grow like crazy.

PT:How do you have fun?

SL:Cooking. I love to sail, and I love the beach. With five offices, my time is very consumed. Pilot season begins in February so we are incredibly busy.

PT:What’s your style?

SL: More of a European style classic and current at the same time. My favorite stores? Banana Republic,

J. Crew and Nordstrom’s.