Italians in America – Our Immigrant Stories: Newark restaurateurs owe their success to two things – perseverance and a food critic

By Tanya Tecce

Giuseppe Martuscelli immigrated to America from Santa Maria di Castellabate in 1967. Once here he began work as a cook. On weekends, in the little spare time he had, he would attend the dance-hall get-togethers in South Philadelphia. It was there that he met Anna, also an immigrant from the Salerno area, in Castel San Giorgio.

Family Martuscelli: Joseph, Annabella, Gilda, Ava, Juliette, Alessandro, Anna, Gianmarco, Christian, Giuseppe, and Ann Marie, 2024.

They married in 1973 and had two sons, Gianmarco and Alessandro. A few years later, Giuseppe got an opportunity to open a little pizza/pasta shop in Newark, Del. So they scrimped and saved and managed to put together the $20,000 required to make their move and invest in the restaurant. They opened La Casa Pasta in 1978, at a time when you had to make a point to travel to Philadelphia to get the food supplies to run your business. Undeterred, Giuseppe would get up at 4 a.m. three or four times every week to make the trek to Philly, bring the ingredients back home,
and get to work cooking.

It wasn’t an overnight success. Their first New Year’s Eve fell flat, and not a soul came into the restaurant. A few months later, Giuseppe’s two original partners decided that there wasn’t enough happening in the area, and they returned to Philly. But Giuseppe and Anna stuck it out. After all, they had already committed their entire life savings.

Giovanni Cardillo, Giuseppe Martuscelli, Gerardo Martuscelli and Jimmy Darden, in the early days, 1978.

One night, unbeknownst to them, the food critic for The News Journal published a review of their restaurant. The headline raved that La Casa Pasta had the best Mussels fra Diavolo in Delaware, and probably over the state line. Giuseppe was too busy working to read the article. He learned of it from his friend who called him that Sunday morning and said, “You realize that you’re gonna be really busy today, right?”

His friend was right. It was so incredibly busy, the four of them there – Giuseppe, the dishwasher, the server and the bartender – could barely keep up. From that day on, they were busy. Everyone from neighbors to local politicians and people passing through, wanted to eat there and felt the food was the best. Still, 47 years later, the standard remains.

The standard and the work ethic. Giuseppe and Anna have cultivated seven-day workweeks as a lifestyle, their passion, and of course, a family affair. They raised their sons in the restaurant.

Homemade pasta made with love, 2024.

“I grew up in the business and I love cooking in the kitchen” says Gianmarco. “When I was in college at St. Joseph’s, I’d still drive home so I could work Saturdays. I’d have to drive back for the campus life on Saturday night. One night at a party, I met this Italian girl, Gilda. When I told my mom about her, my mom stopped in her tracks. She wanted to know if her dad’s name was Benito.

“When my mom arrived here in America she rented a place, and all my aunts and uncles stayed there too. The woman there that took care of them, that took all the Italian immigrants in, helped them with their housing, helped to get them jobs, and helped them adjust to American life – her name
was Gilda.

“Thirty years later I meet her granddaughter, Gilda.” Needless to say when Gianmarco brought his future in-laws to meet his parents, it truly was like one big Italian reunion.

Gianmarco graduated from St. Joseph’s, Alessandro from Georgetown Law. “Alessandro
is a lawyer now, and he’s a great foodie and helps
me with menus.”

There were not a lot of Italian Americans in Newark when the brothers grew up. “But when Italians would come to our area, they knew where
to go. My dad is ahead of his time. At one point
he put calamari on the menu, and many people
didn’t understand it. Some were asking him
why we had fish bait on the menu. But of course, now it’s so popular.

“He also introduced tripe to our customers around the holidays, and cooked them bacala and braciole. Not everybody had it or understood it, but it’s authenticity that sets him apart.”

Giuseppe and Anna now split their time between Delaware and Florida but when Giuseppe’s in town, he rolls up his sleeves and rolls plenty of braciole. “He will stuff calamari all day long.”

“My brother and I learned how much hard work my parents put in, working every single day. The weekends, you work; the weekdays, you work. Our day off was technically Monday. But the restaurant is always open, the house is always open, food is always on the table, people are always welcome, they’re always visiting.”

Giuseppe flew home for the Valentines rush this year, so he can help and work in the kitchen. At age 80, patriarch Giuseppe can still be found rolling braciole and stuffing calamari at his beloved home base, La Casa Pasta. It’s where he loves to spend most of his time.

Giuseppe and Anna Martuscelli are owners and founding operators of La Casa Pasta. Their son Gianmarco and his wife Gilda also operate their growing company, keeping the focus on their foundation made of quality food, loving family, and unmatched work ethic. They’ve expanded their family of restaurants to include the Chesapeake Inn in Chesapeake City, Md., and Klondike Kate’s in Newark.