 Welcome to the Maine course, with me, Natalie Roth. Growing up in a small town in Minnesota, the only exciting cuisine was that of our state fair. Now that I'm in Maine, I am so excited to meet all the talented chefs that create such delicious and unique food. Come with me as I explore Maine and all the different foods it has to offer. Brittany and Hope, our chef and our restaurant owner, we're very excited to be here. I was wondering if you could give me a little bit of overview to start. Well, I purchased Costin Avello four years ago. It's a brick and mortar. Prior to that, I was not in a brick and mortar. I was doing catering and I had a food truck. And this was always my dream. I loved this restaurant. It was open in 1999. The previous owner had it. It was very successful. It's a legacy. And I was blessed to have been able to acquire it. Yeah, definitely. Do you mind telling me a little bit about the name and how that came to be? Was it your choice? It was not my choice. I was the previous owner. I looked it up. It means Costin Avello means new life. I like it. I like it. Very inspirational. And what about... Actually, that's not true. It's a new house. Sorry, I did a little bit of research. New house. I like it though. It's very interesting. How would you describe the kind of vibe of the place or culture of Costin Avello? I've seen it turn from when I first purchased it. And now it's a completely different genre of people. So we have all ages. Now we have very family friendly. So people try to do their events here, special birthday parties. We do private events also. And it is evolved to a younger crowd actually. People in their 20s and 25s and 30s and girls celebrating with their girlfriends. Guys coming in with their friends. Them coming in with couples. Also very romantic. A lot of people have met here. We have a seat right over there. A bunch of people got engaged and they come and they celebrate their anniversaries. We had a couple in last night. 54 years of marriage. Lots of, like I said, people getting engaged right there in the window. Very romantic. Very cool. I like it. So if you could tell me a little bit. How was your passion for the industry kind of found? And how did you kind of come to be in knowing that you wanted to own a restaurant in such a small town compared to what seems like you've been in some very larger experienced restaurants? Yeah. I, you know, like every child, you try to find what you want to do. You know, you go to school. You go to college. I changed my major six times. I started out in New Jersey at a very, very, very large restaurant called Prona Farms. And the minute I set foot into that restaurant, I just knew. The owner, Victor Avendolio, he was very passionate. He didn't want 100%. He wanted 110. And that was my goal and I got it. I worked very hard for them. I was one of the youngest waitresses. They were open for many, many, many years. So they had an older crew. And I came in and I just loved it. I loved the people. I loved catering. I loved serving food. I loved, I just loved every bit of it. And that was my passion. 17 when I first started. And then I left New Jersey. I worked for Persephone Hilton. Left went to California, Arizona, you know, restaurant business you can do. You're always going to get a job in the restaurant business. Definitely. So I usually start out not telling them that I am a restaurant manager or whatever I did. I ended up being a bartender or a server. And then they'd say, do you want a manager position? I'm like, sure. So I traveled there from California. I got a job here at one of the biggest restaurants back in the 90s called the Village Cafe. It was an incredible restaurant. I was very blessed to have gotten a job as the general manager there from California. Wow. And I love that. Then I went to Macaroni Grill. I've always got my whole life from family to corporate. Corporate to family, family to corporate. And just wanted to own my own restaurant. My father knew that. He passed. This was his dream for me. And I went into the back door one day. Gary wasn't even interested in selling. I said, would you like to sell? He said, no. I said, I'll be back next week. I said, would you like to sell? He said, yes. And that was it. My dream came true. Amazing. It's great to hear. I mean, it's awesome. So based on a little bit of research, it seems that you guys were close for a bit there. Could you tell me a little bit about how your experience has been since reopening? And I'm sure the community, it seemed like they made a massive effort. Oh my gosh. But this Westford community is very close-knit. So if you could just tell me a little bit how your experience since then, your involvement in the community, anything like that. Yeah, so the short of it, because people are probably, you know, they've heard so much about it, was I, one of my cooks left, a couple of them just weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing. And I just said, I'm done. I was, you know, my customers didn't know if we were open full, if we were open at the bar only, if we were open at takeout, one day we're open, one day we're closed. I just, I couldn't do it. I needed to shut down. I needed to regroup. And I said, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I honestly didn't think we were going to reopen again. Then, Lori Vargas, she sent a message to me, oh my gosh, no, you're closed. I'd like to do a story on this. And I'm like, no, I don't like to do that stuff. And she insisted. And we, all of a sudden, the universe, the energy was just focused on this restaurant. Such positive energy, such love, the community. I mean, I was like, why me? You know, so I'm thinking this must be, this must meant to be. Yeah. Five weeks into it, well, actually four weeks into it, I was interviewing probably about 100 people a week and not one person. It was like, they were, I was doing interviews on my phone, on email, and I would book five or six at a time to come in. They never showed up. Oh my. And then Brittany, she was like, I got this message from her. And she's like, you know what, I've been working hard at this other restaurant. And I feel she's exhausted. She feels like she was underappreciated. She was just working, putting band-aids. You know, saving the whole day at her place. People weren't, were coming in, oh, I don't feel good. They call out one day. They'd rehire them the next day. They wouldn't show up one day. They'd rehire the next day. And she was like, I just want to work for a restaurant that cares. And she said, I feel like you care. And so I interviewed her and fell in love with her instantly. She was like, so bright eyed and so passionate. And I'm like, you know, Brittany, I just, I don't want to be doing this my whole life. Is this something that you want to take over? And she's like, this is my dream. So she came in, a big smile on her face. She turned it into a restaurant instead of a restaurant. I like that. The people that she brought with her, the people that wanted to leave, because they were so exhausted from what I was doing, ended up wanting to stay. It's just been incredible. The staff loves her. She fit in immediately. It's like she belonged here. She was the angel. She was meant to be. Any restaurant I've ever worked at, they focus more on quality rather than getting food out right away. Like most restaurants, as soon as that ticket comes in, you better get that steak on the grill. You know, you better get that working. It doesn't matter what you're doing at the time. But here, you want to make sure that every dish is tasted. It's perfect. Like, it doesn't matter if it takes 30 minutes, because everybody's going to be eating their salads. They're going to be doing a bread. So you have the ability to just focus. Definitely. And then speaking of which, do you guys, or do you think of any new dishes yourself? Are you someone that likes to kind of do a test kitchen sort of thing or bring in new ideas? I see you guys have a featured menu every week and do your wine down Wednesdays and everything like that. I love to experiment with food and specials. Like, recently I've done a chicken roulade. I have arancinis tonight, which are very time consuming to make, but they're so much fun and it's so worth it. Oh, yes. That's great to hear. I mean, it sounds like you've definitely found a spot that you fit in that you love. And all your ingredients are from Italy, from what I've heard. A lot of them. Either from Italy or locally sourced. That's great. I think sustainability is a big part of what people like nowadays. And so events, you were talking about some younger, maybe events happening soon, like drinks and martinis, kind of people coming in after dinner. Oh, yeah. We talked about that. Yeah. We have my daughter went to school with a girl. She's just graduating from culinary school and she does desserts, pastries and stuff like that. Plus, she cooks. So we're offering her a position to do all fresh breads and pastries and cakes. And we want to feature a bunch of those. And I had thought that possibly at night, we'll close in the wintertime and maybe eight. After that, maybe people would want a peritif or a cappuccino and a fresh pastry or gelato or stuff like that. And in this restaurant, it's an experience. People don't come in to just have an entree and leave. They have appetizers, soup, salad, special house drinks. Then they have desserts. Then they have after dinner drinks, maybe a cappuccino, a coffee. You know, it's an experience. And some people stay for hours. Some people don't stay for hours. You know what I mean? But so it works. And it's an experience. Very fun. It's kind of towards the younger crowd a little bit. We're getting there. But you know, it's funny because people in their 70s, they come in. We have this couple that's in their 80s. They come in. They have a martini. Then they have a bottle of wine. They have an appetizer. They split an entree. They split a dessert. They have a coffee. And we love them. We just can't wait until they come in. And we look forward to seeing them. And it's just a lot of phones down. Phones down. Experience. Living the moment. Talking. Looking at each other. Phones down. Definitely. So Brittany, I was going to ask, what do you think is the most popular dish? Or do you have a favorite that you like to make? Our chicken marsala and our chicken farms are the top two. Those will always, always sell. And it's great because our chicken farms are made fresh personally by me every day. And they taste phenomenal. I'm sure, I mean, if the chef is saying it, I mean, I have to try it, but that's great. And then I was just going to ask, what can we expect from Casa Novella in the next few years? I mean, you touched on maybe you eventually owning, but definitely, I mean, it's not going anywhere. I hope not in the next few years with the community. I mean, that would be my dream. I would love to be a business owner in a restaurant like this. I mean, this place is just, it's classic. You know? It's not really going to significantly change, but you're always going to have some new stuff. Definitely. And what do you think? What do you think about Casa Novella in the next years to come? I want the younger generation to bring it, keep the legacy going. That's her. The younger generation. She reminded me, you know, I loved working. She just recently has Mondays off. So normally it's just Sunday. And she's like, what am I going to do? I'm like, Brittany, you need to start living, but I love her passion. What does she do? She'll come in or she's like, I'm going to come in. I'm like, no, you need to stay home. You know what I mean? But I see she's, it doesn't matter. She's, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That's great. Very heartbreaking. They're passionate. Yeah. I don't think she's going to slow down soon. I hope not. So that's what I see. I see, you know, that's who I was. And I love that. And I know, I want to keep it local and I want to give it to some good hands. And that's her. And that was my dream. Definitely, definitely. You know, to do that. So being in such a smaller area outside of Portland, how does Casa Novella, you know, kind of bring in their customers? Do you guys do a lot of advertising or anything like that? Word of mouth. Word of mouth. Got the good food. People like to talk about it. Word of mouth. And it's so strange because people, that last night, a woman, she left a couple doors down. And she's like, I've never been here. She's like, I didn't realize that I can just have a glass of wine and an appetizer. You know, I can come over and I'm like, absolutely. And she, and I constantly hear, I haven't been there. I haven't been there. I haven't been there. We've been here since 1999. So yes, I do do some TV and I do do some radio advertising and I do do push-ups on Facebook. I do do Instagram, that kind of stuff. But I don't go crazy over it. I do what I'm supposed to be doing, what percentage I'm supposed to be doing. But I do think word of mouth is the best way to go. Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah. So you're talking about you might be decreasing some hours during the winter. You slow down a lot. Yeah. We are busier in the wintertime, but people don't come out after eight o'clock. Oh yes. Sort of like that. Now that it's getting darker sooner, we can tell that people aren't coming out. And in this day and age, you have to be really careful running your business. You know, you have to be, if people are coming in the door, income's coming in the door. But for us to be open until nine and nobody coming in from eight to nine, I'm very business savvy. I have to be careful with my numbers to keep it going and keep it working. Definitely. And we do do that. And you know, that's why Brittany said our food is fresh. We have, how much waste do we have? Barely any. We have barely any. I mean like we are, when it's the day for our delivery, our coolers are empty. So we keep it as tight as we possibly can. Very environmentally sound too. Yeah. I like that. And it's fresh. And all your menu items are Italian staples obviously. Do you have anything kind of unique or anything different that you would say that's a little bit more outside the box Italian? Our marsala, it was not my recipe. It was a recipe from the previous owners, but we make it with cream and that's not traditional. And that is a really big seller. Yeah. And we put a spin on it. I mean we, we made sure that we had all these top, top, you know, and our creams and stuff like that. So, you know, I'm not going to say that we made it better because I've never had the original original back in 1999, but I know that ours, people taste it and they go, oh my gosh, how could it be better and it is? So. That's great to hear. Yeah. And a lot of your customers are they regulars or are you getting a lot of new people? We have a lot of regulars. Thank you Casa Novello for sitting down with us and speaking with me today it was great to learn about your menu and your community engagement here. It seems like you guys are doing great and we're very excited to see where Casa Novello takes us in the next few years. That's true and thank you.