DOCTOR OF PASTA
By Leslee Komaiko
For dineLA.com
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Madelyn Alfano |
There’s no mistaking Maria’s Italian Kitchen for any other local Italian restaurant. The black and white checkered motif is a giveaway that good things await, including one of this city’s best bowls of spaghetti and meatballs. Madelyn Alfano, a Hoboken native who grew up in the restaurant business, is the woman behind Maria’s. Her mom, Maria, and dad, Donald, had an Italian deli in Long Island. When they moved to the West Coast they took over a small Brentwood grocery store and soon added a popular Italian takeout annex. In 1985, the younger Alfano opened the first Maria’s Italian Kitchen in Sherman Oaks. Many more followed. In addition to overseeing a small restaurant empire and being a wife and mother, Alfano sits on several boards, including the California Restaurant Association. She is also involved in several philanthropic causes.
How many restaurants do you now have?
We have 10 including Downtown, a dual restaurant. I consider it two in one. There’s an express concept. Then there’s Maria’s casual upscale, our flagship, my new urban look. There’s a great bar and happy hour.
When you say your “new urban look,” does that mean you are going to convert the other Maria’s?
No. This is a new concept for the Downtown urban environment, maybe San Francisco, maybe Irvine.
I know you started in the San Fernando Valley and now have several restaurants in 818. The valley doesn’t have the best rep when it comes to food. Why not?
I think it’s ignorance. First of all, most of the people who live in the valley grew up on the Westside. We were paralyzed when going over Mulholland. We thought we needed a passport.
I couldn’t afford to buy a home in West LA when I got married. We bought in Encino. A lot of my friends moved to Calabasas or Sherman Oaks. I think it’s a stigma the valley has that is so old and it needs to be changed. We have good palates. Maria’s Italian Kitchen built its concept in the Valley. We didn’t go to the Westside until 2003. I love the people in the Valley. They’re loyal. It’s the best-kept secret.
I have heard some restaurateurs complain that Valley residents won’t spend as much money. (I feel like I can say this since I live in 818.)
At the Downtown location, the check average is higher. People will have an appetizer. People will have a dessert. Our Valley locations are mostly family. Parents aren’t going to drink and drive.
Why do people have a chip on their shoulders about chains?
I hate the word “chain.” I like to call it our family of restaurants.
How often do you update the menus and how involved are you in new additions?
Very involved. We do chef’s creations every month or every couple of months. That’s our way of introducing different items to our regular menus. Sometimes they stick, like our Southwest salad. But I’m taking it off because it’s too expensive to make. When people think of Maria’s Italian Kitchen they think of great pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, chopped Italian salad. Those are the identities of Maria’s Italian Kitchen and that will never change.
Have you ever tried, unsuccessfully, to get rid of a menu item?
The Southwest salad that I’m pulling, we tell customers it will come back next summer. They’ll have the barbecue chicken salad instead. If a manager says, “Yeah, the owner didn’t want it ‘cause it costs too much…” It all depends on how you communicate the message.
Why the American love affair with Italian food?
Oh, comfort. Italian food is comfort food. It’s like a hug. Maria’s is like a great big hug from family.
How often are you in the restaurants?
Since it’s my baby I’ve been Downtown almost every day since we opened. I was there yesterday. You know when you have a baby you have to be there.
Does your psychology degree come in handy?
Absolutely. I’m a very good listener and a very good observer of people. It’s really important to look at people. You can look at someone’s eyes and know a lot. I also credit that to having a handicapped son. He was non-verbal. By his body language we had to tune into what’s going on. Body language says a lot about customers.
What do you like to eat at your restaurants?
My favorite is the homemade ravioli. When I’m on a no gluten diet, the chicken Florentine risotto. Rice is not gluten. A lot of people don’t know that.
When you eat elsewhere, where do you like to go?
It sounds really funny, but I love Chipotle for its simplicity. I love Chinese food. My really good friend has a restaurant in Sherman Oaks called Bamboo. He runs a really good operation.
Are any of your kids thinking of going into the restaurant business?
My son Nicholas who is fifteen and a half, he has worked with me since he was nine. He wanted to get a skim board. I told him I’ll match the funds you earn. He was bussing tables in Woodland Hills. Recently he would take the metro Downtown and work in the Express. He noticed things that weren’t being done right. He’s a really good observer. He says he won’t get into it. I said that too. I said I would never be in the restaurant business.
Because you saw your parents?
Working seven days a week. I said I was going to be a doctor and here I am, a doctor of pasta.
You are very philanthropic. In your case, this is clearly not just for show.
It’s genuine. For years I didn’t ever post things on the website. I just do it from my heart.
How do you juggle all this? Or doesn’t it feel like that?
Some days it does. I’m very organized. I’m a list maker and I prioritize.
I have to ask this question: Do people confuse Maria’s with Louisa’s?
Louisa is my sister. My sister opened the first Louisa’s on 26th street [in Santa Monica]. She sold it in 1995.
Big sister or little sister?
Big sister. I call her the Martha Stewart to Maria’s. She makes sure everything is pretty and special.
Do people call you Maria?
I get called that all the time.
Do you correct people?
No, because I don’t like to embarrass people.
Tell us something about Maria’s people might not know.
That my mother still calls me and tells me what to do on a regular basis. We had a meatball argument for a week.
What about?
We grind our own meat. My mom was complaining, you gotta’ change the way the grind is. Although we think we have a great product we constantly argue over how we can do things better.
