Mama Guzzardi Still Saucy at 95

She goes by a few different names — Mama G. and Katherine G. Spinelli, for starters. But there’s one that rings a bell with most North Cantonites who love homemade Italian food, and that’s Mama Guzzardi.

— and the woman — have been more popular than usual over the past week as customers have bought $.95 spaghetti and other specials to honor Spinelli, who turns 95 Friday.

North Canton Patch met up with Spinelli to not only wish her a happy birthday, but to talk to the woman who, along with her son Tom Rollo, started the restaurant 25 years ago.

A secretary all her life, Spinelli learned from her mother how to cook all the Italian favorites, many of which now are staples at the restaurant. She moved from Anaheim, CA, to help her son build up his restaurant, which was just a basic pizza shop when it first began.

“(Tom) called me and he said, ‘Mom, could you come out?’” He said he couldn’t get a decent plate of spaghetti,” Spinelli said. “So I came out. I was 70 years old.”

And, 25 years later, the business is thriving. Just check out its Facebook page and see just a bit of the chatter from its customers.

The restaurant is far from a simple pizza shop now. It features everything from lasagna to antipasto and subs.

And Spinelli? She’s far from what you’d expect of a 95-year-old. Full of spunky phrases like “forget about it,” there’s no denying Spinelli is feisty  — not to mention as astute as can be. She’s an expert crossword puzzle solver and born entertainer. She’s always ready to share a story and is someone who puts family first.

She credits her family for much of the business' success. That includes her daughter, Phyllis Songster, who also works at Mama Guzzardi’s. Songster said she keeps her mother in the loop about the business because she doesn’t get into the restaurant as much as she used to. But that doesn’t mean anything slips by Spinelli, she said.

“She’s the face of the restaurant. She’s got to represent it. So we have to stay on our toes,” Songster said.

Spinelli also tipped her hat to longtime workers, some who’ve been there since day one, she said.

Oh, and we can’t forget a lot of the success lies in the spaghetti sauce.

“That’s what’s kept the restaurant going,” she said. “Everybody claims our sauce is the best they’ve ever tasted.”

She said many menu items have transformed throughout the years as customers have weighed in on what they do and don’t like. For instance, the spaghetti comes in angel hair now because that’s what customers wanted, and individual pizzas are available not just for kids.

“I listened to my customers,” Spinelli said. “They were the mainstay.”

Learn more about Mama Guzzardi’s Italian Restaurant in on North Canton Patch, and make sure to wish Mama Guzzardi a happy birthday in our comments section!

Mama Guzzardi facts:

• Katherine Guzzardi Spinelli hails from Brooklyn, NY, and now resides in North Canton
• She’s worked all over the U.S., including General Motors for 25 years, a job inside the Empire State Building and inside a gift shop, where she would add personal touches her products
• Mama Guzzardi’s Italian Restaurant is located at 1107 N. Main St. in North Canton
• Katherine Spinelli had never been called “Mama Guzzardi” until her son named the business that