Meet Susan Amato of Angelina’s Italian Restaurant in Tewksbury

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Amato.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Susan. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Food is my whole life, Growing up my memories were made at the Family dinner table where we came together, talked about our day, eat great food and sipped on wine. For hours we enjoyed each other’s company and cherished the memories that became unforgettable. That’s what inspires us today at Angelina’s! Being from an Italian Family, the one thing for sure was that life was all about food. We spent hours cooking with only the freshest ingredients. Polenta was an all-day affair to get it to the right texture, pasta was handmade daily, eggplant hand peeled, cut thin and pan-fried individually, same as our meatballs. At Angelina’s, we continue using the same process used by my Nonna, Angelina, and we never take short cuts, just like my Nonna.

We offer a large selection of mostly Italian wines from various regions of Italy. Our featured wines come from Bolognano, Italy, my Family village in Italy were Angelina grew up and the home of Zaccagnini Wines. Angelina’s offers a taste of Italy where the food is cooked to order and the wine comes from our Family Village in Italy.

-Winner 2014 & 2015 Merrimack Valley Magazine’s reader’s choice awards.
-Voted Best Overall Restaurant in Tewksbury 2015 Taste of the Town.
-Featured on the cover of the Merrimack Valley Magazine
-Angelina’s was featured on an episode of NESN’s weekly program, The New England Traveler.
-NESN’s Charlie Moore “The Mad Fisherman” features Angelina’s commercial on his weekly show, Charlie Moore Outdoors.

Has it been a smooth road?
Success is never easy. We have had many struggles along the way, staffing is always a struggle, however, for the past 3 years, my staff has been amazing! They all have so much passion for the business and respect for each other. Then finding the right marketing tool for our business was difficult but now we truly know what works and what doesn’t. We have a commercial on NESN’s Charlie Moore Outdoors which has been very good to us as well as our local radio station WCAP.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Angelina’s Italian Restaurant story. Tell us more about the business.
Our restaurant is truly about bringing family and friends together again. On Tuesdays its Family day when we do not allow guests to use their cell phones. They actually talk to each other, they talk, laugh and listen. We are helping to make memories. I’ve seen children go through all of their Sacraments, Birthdays, graduations, engagement, wedding, children being born, christenings. It’s one big circle of life. Out food is fresh and cooked to order. Many times someone will come in a say, I haven’t had that dish since my Mother had made it for me, and it’s just a good! We pride ourselves in our pasta, meats and daily specials, specialty drinks and wine. The best part is walking around to the tables and having so many people tell me how happy we make them with our food, staff and atmosphere. It’s a small but beautiful restaurant with great food, amazing wine and the BEST staff you will ever meet.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see the smaller, more intimate restaurants becoming more of the trend. I feel people are wanting more of the past, the era when Family and Friends were most important and they actually spoke to each other, no texting, snap chat and all the other ways people communicate today.

Pricing:

• Average lunch is about $10.00
• Average dinner is about $19.00

Contact Info:

• Address: Susan Amato
• Website: www.angelinastewksbury.com
• Phone: 978-319-9573
• Email: susanamato@comcast.net
• Instagram: angelinasitalianrestaurant
• Facebook: @angelinasitalianrestaurant
• Twitter: @angiestewksbury

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