Anthony, Maria, and What Nonna Rosa Started
Eight years. Same recipes. Same morning pasta. Same mission: cook food that tastes like something.
What Nonna Rosa's Kitchen Taught Anthony
Anthony Russo ate at his grandmother's table every Sunday growing up. Nonna Rosa Ferrante lived on the third floor of a walk-up in Spaccanapoli — Naples' oldest neighborhood — and the smell of her soffritto hit you on the second-floor landing before you even reached her door.
She made pasta by hand every single day. Not when she had time. Every day. The dough, the sauce, the stuffing for the tortelloni — all of it by hand, same way she'd learned from her own mother in 1962.
Anthony trained professionally. Culinary school in Naples, then stages in Rome and Florence under chefs who taught him technique and precision. But everything he actually knows about why food matters, he learned at that table.
He moved to Austin in 2015. Three years working in other people's kitchens. In 2017, he gave himself a deadline: open his own place or go back to Naples. He found the East 6th Street space in January 2018. It had been a tire shop. He and his cousin spent four months rebuilding it. The wood-fired oven took three weekends.
Nonna's Kitchen opened in September 2018. Nonna Rosa flew from Naples for the opening. She walked in, sat down, ate the pasta, and told him the sauce needed another 20 minutes. She was right.
Maria Runs the Front — and She Remembers Everything
Maria Russo studied hospitality at UT Austin and spent four years in wine distribution before Anthony convinced her to join him. She knows every bottle on the wine list — not from a printed guide, from actually tasting them. She builds the list twice a year, cuts what doesn't earn its place, adds things she discovers on trips or from producers she trusts.
She also coordinates all private events and catering. If you're planning a rehearsal dinner, a corporate dinner, or a wedding — you work with Maria directly. There's no event coordinator she hands you off to. She is the coordinator, and she stays on from the first call to the last course.
She's the reason regulars feel like regulars. She'll remember your name on your second visit, your anniversary on your third, and your preference for the window table by your fourth.
The People Behind Every Plate
18 people total. Most of them live within a few miles of E 6th Street.
Chef Luis Garza
Sous Chef. Six years at Nonna's Kitchen. Grew up in San Antonio, trained in Houston, came to Austin specifically after eating here twice in one week. He runs the pasta station every morning and leads the kitchen on Anthony's days off.
Marco & the Bar Team
Marco started as a busser, learned the wine list, and now runs the bar. That's how we do promotions here — from within. The bar team knows the food as well as they know the drinks.
18 People Strong
Front of house, kitchen, bar — 18 total. We hire locally and promote from inside. The team knows this neighborhood and this food. When you walk in, you're in good hands.
We Import Three Things From Italy. Everything Else Is Texas.
Imported from Italy
- San Marzano tomatoes (DOP) — the only tomatoes that go in the base sauce. Same importer since 2018.
- 00 flour — double-zero milled for the pasta. Finer grind, more silk, better bite.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano, 24 months aged — minimum 24 months or we don't use it. The flavor difference is not subtle.
From Texas Farms
- Tecolote Farm (Elgin) — mixed greens and fresh herbs year-round.
- Johnson's Backyard Garden (East Austin) — seasonal vegetables. What's on the specials board is usually what Luis just got from JBG that morning.
- Salt Lick Cellars — small-batch Texas wines that Maria keeps on the list because they earn their spot.
Come Taste What We're Talking About
Tuesday nights are quieter and just as good. Anthony's still in the kitchen. The pasta's still made that morning.