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Consistency is key at Scarsella’s
By Kalea Hall
YOUNGSTOWN
Consistency is key to any business, but in an Italian restaurant, it’s essential.
After almost 60 years in business, if Scarsella’s Restaurant isn’t consistent with its sauce, its soups and its service, customers notice.
“In the food business you have to be consistent,” said Sean Kushma, executive chef at Scarsella’s. “We are family-oriented. We have seen four generations of customers.”
“They are our extended families,” added Connie Kushma, restaurant owner.
Staying committed to consistency for their family of customers is one of the reasons why Connie and her sons, Sean and Dale Kushma, think readers of The Vindicator in a social media poll named Scarsella’s as one of three best restaurants in the Mahoning Valley.
The Vindicator recently featured Salvatore’s as another best restaurant.
MANGIA, MANGIA
It’s about the time for Scarsella’s to open the doors for the day as the Kushmas relay the story of their restaurant’s beginning.
In the kitchen, smells of old recipes stew, stirring up memories of Mary Grace Canacci Scarsella, Connie’s grandmother who started the restaurant.
Mary Grace was an American-born Italian who got stuck in the mountains of Italy during World War II. She traveled to Italy with her Italian-born husband, Luigi, and family to take care of Luigi’s sick father.
Luigi eventually came back to the Youngstown area.
“My great-grandmother made him go back,” Sean said.
Luigi came back and operated a bar on Wilson Avenue on the city’s East Side. Mary Grace stayed in Italy with their children and other family helping to care for Luigi’s father.
“They were there for 13 years,” Connie said.
When Mary Grace came back to Youngstown, she told Luigi she didn’t want to raise the family in the bar scene.
“She would make food for the customers and they would ask for more,” Sean said.
“She thought, ‘I can do this because I’ve been cooking for soldiers,’” Connie said. “She grew up learning how to cook. When she was in Italy, she cooked for many, many people. She knew what she was doing.”
SOUTH SIDE OPENING
In 1957, Mary Grace and Luigi capitalized on her culinary expertise and opened Scarsella’s at the corner of Market and Pyatt streets on the South Side.
Her homemade pasta, sauce and meatballs were a favorite.
“They focused on good, homemade Italian food,” Connie said.
The original Scarsella’s had just three or four booths.
“We were getting busier,” Connie said. The need was there to expand.
Scarsella’s relocated to another South Side location on Market Street at Florida Avenue, giving the restaurant the capability to seat 50. The business operated there for 27 years.
Connie’s mother, Teresa Kozar, was a part of the restaurant from day one helping to operate it. Mary Grace’s other daughters, Connie Massaro and Vicki Battista, worked at Scarsella’s and ended up starting their own restaurants. Most of the family and members of the family through marriage have been a part of the restaurant in some way.
“She [Mary Grace] taught us,” Connie said. “My mom. My boys. Myself. We all learned together. Our family is very close. We grew up in the family atmosphere.”
Mary Grace ran the restaurant until the 1982, when Connie took over.
THE NEXT GENERATION
In 1996, the restaurant moved again to its current location at 4151 Market St. near Boardman.
“This doubled our seating capacity and the kitchen tripled in size,” Sean said.
Sean went to culinary school because he loved cooking and knew he would eventually work for his family’s restaurant. Dale went to school for finance.
“I went into [finance] for the business,” Dale said. “I figured he could cook and I’ll do the rest of the operations.”
Mary Grace worked at Scarsella’s until six months before she died in 2004.
“She’s probably up there smiling at us,” Sean said.
Her pictures hang on the walls in the restaurant along with pictures of Italy. The atmosphere of Scarsella’s is as consistent with the Italian culture as the food is.
It feels homey like grandma’s house.
It’s a feeling the family hopes to spread through franchising.
“We actually have finished our paperwork and are offering franchising,” Sean said. “We want to start off in Ohio first, so we can make sure everything is done right and organized properly. A lot of the product will be bought from us. When we put out food, it’s the best.”
The Vindicator will feature one more restaurant as voted by readers as one of the best. Keep reading the Sunday BEST section to find out the identity of that restaurant.