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MAMMA LENA
CASTALDI
Jan. 10, 1920 - Feb.
11, 2005
We now live in an age when
restaurants and food companies often develop an endearing yet
fictional "mother" after which to name their products. Here at
Mamma Lena’s, though, there was indeed a real Mamma Lena whose
talent and life experiences are the backbone of what makes
this restaurant so special.
 Mamma
Lena (Maddalena Tortora Castaldi) was born in Torre del
Greco, a small town outside of Naples, Italy in 1920.
She was raised in the typical Italian tradition where love of
family was the center of her life, and the daily creation of
delicious meals was one of the most important ways to express
that love. As a young woman, she and the rest of her city were
forced to endure the hardships of WW2, and bombing raids and
extended stays in basements or bomb shelters became a way of
life. During these times, she learned to make "something from
nothing". The war made food very scarce, so she became
proficient in making delicious meals of the barest ingredients
such as flour, potatoes, garlic and spices, a talent that
eventually became the basis for Mamma Lena Restaurant’s
philosophy of simple yet delicious food.
She also suffered through the agony
of wondering about the fate of her fiancé, Ciro Castaldi, who
was arrested as a suspected American spy and imprisoned in a
German concentration camp. Though given up for dead by everyone
else, he managed to escape, hiding out in barns and forests,
finally making his long way home to find Lena still waiting
for him after more than 5 years. To this day, she is still
lovingly referred to by some in Italy as "Sposa" (The
Bride). And up until she died, when Mamma Lena would
recount the thrilling day the Americans marched into her town,
freeing them from the Germans, she was often moved to tears by
the memory.
Years later,
Lena found herself in New York, suddenly on her own in a
strange new country with 3 children to raise. Yet, despite
financial and language handicaps, she prevailed, establishing
a home where nothing was more important than gathering her
family around a lovingly-prepared meal. Eventually, she and
those 3 Castaldi children moved here in Charlotte, bringing
with them Mamma Lena's passion for great Italian food and a
treasure-trove of old family recipes. Her youngest son
Raymond is the owner and manager of Mamma Lena’s Trattoria,
and he has brought to Waxhaw Mamma's enduring tradition of
loving family and delicious, memorable food.
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