Mama Louisa’s on Houghton, the shirttail cousin of the original Mama Louisa’s Italian Restaurant that’s lived on South Craycroft Road since 1956, closed last weekend.
The move was announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page; no reason was given why the restaurant was shuttered after nearly four years in Rita Ranch.
Mama Louisa’s on Houghton was owned by David and Theresa Mowery, the sister of Suzanne Elefante, who owned and operated the original restaurant from 1973 until 2013. Elefante’s sons, Michael and Joseph, now own the restaurant.
Theresa Mowery could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
The Mowery’s opened on South Houghton Road, which was independent of the original restaurant, in the summer of 2014, bringing to the Rita Ranch area the favorite dishes of generations of Mama Louisa’s customers including the daily pasta bar, house-made pastas, ravioli and eggplant parmigiana.
Michael Elefante, who runs the Craycroft restaurant, said on Thursday that he had not spoken with his aunt and uncle and had no details about the closing.
