Before North End native Carla Agrippino Gomes opened the doors to restaurants Terramia and Antico Forno, she was a dental hygienist. For 10 years she cleaned teeth, eventually pausing to raise her children. But when she felt ready to go back to work, the universe had other plans — thanks to a fateful Sunday dinner.

Over this dinner, her brother Robert mentioned an Italian chef named Mario Nocera was looking for a business partner to open a restaurant with. Gomes’ interest was piqued, so she agreed to meet with him.

“We met on that Tuesday, and he told me what his vision was in broken English. I got a little grasp of what he was saying, and by Friday, it was a done deal,” Gomes says. “Within five days I was in the restaurant business and I didn’t have a clue.”

Cultivating enduring authenticity

Terramia, a cozy Italian spot with roughly a dozen tables, opened in June 1993. Then, three years later, Gomes opened an old-school brick-oven pizza restaurant called Antico Forno across the street.

“I never thought in that moment that I would be in the restaurant business for the next 31 years,” Gomes says. “I thought, if this lasts five years, that’d be great. We’ll eat amazing food for however long it lasts. I was taking it one day at a time, never thinking about the future.”

Before Terramia, Gomes explains many of the North End restaurants specialized in Italian-American food. When chef Mario arrived on the scene, however, he brought his recipes from Salerno, Italy, kickstarting demand for authentic Italian food. 

“I think just being very authentic is what kept us in business. Serving good food, not really doing any PR or anything like that, not being with the in-crowd of restaurant owners or chef owners. We were kind of outsiders, but we were doing our own thing and doing it well,” she says. 

This authenticity — and focusing on quality dishes — is likely how Julia Child became a regular at Terramia. Red Sox, Celtics, and Patriots players followed, along with plenty of celebrities. “It was all before social media,” Gomes notes. “I don’t have pictures with all these stars eating in our restaurants.”

By 2008, when Gomes expanded the footprint of Antico Forno, her restaurants still didn’t have computers. Waiters were hand-writing checks — until the need for technology caught up with the business. With modernization came the eventual adoption of Toast, which Gomes says has allowed her restaurants to serve even more customers. 

Now, servers can approach each table with a handheld computer to input orders and process payments, rather than lining up behind a computer screen to close tabs at a waiter station. “It really makes things a lot faster in the restaurant industry,” she says. “And a lot nicer, with a lot less paperwork.”

Even though she’s installed computers and launched a presence on social media, Gomes says it’s glowing word-of-mouth recommendations from regulars and a healthy dose of tourist walk-ins that turned both Terramia and Antico Forno into restaurant success stories.

Prioritizing the customer at every turn

For Mangia Mangia owner Gary Forziati, breaking into the North End’s restaurant business was a process almost as casual as Gomes’. His best friend Johnny Pagliuca initially opened the breakfast and lunch spot in December 1986. Fast forward 30 years, and Forziati, another North End native and owner of Beacon Hill’s Uptown Cafe, noticed the lights weren’t on in his friend’s place.

“One day I saw him and I go, ‘John, why are you closed?’ He said ‘Because someone quit and I don’t want to run it with two people. Are you interested in taking over?’” Forziati recounts. So, the duo instituted a good old-fashioned handshake deal. Forziati closed Uptown Cafe, underwent hip surgery, and started revamping Mangia Mangia after his recovery in 2017. By 2018, the neighborhood’s beloved breakfast and lunch joint was back. 

For a locally owned restaurant to last for over 30 years, Forziati explains there’s one key thing an owner needs to nail: serving dependably good food.

“The thing is, if you put out a good product and you have the customers coming in, they want that product,” Forziati says. “You’ve got to keep using the same product. If you change an item, the customers know.”

Case in point? Forziati tried ordering a different ham than usual for his shop’s sandwiches. The response from customers was swift and matter of fact. “They’ll say, ‘Did you just change your ham?’” he says. The same goes for meatballs, tuna fish, mayonnaise — you name it. 

Having items customers come back for again and again helps, too. Forziati bakes his own bread in house, and gets raving reviews about his chicken salad, which is made fresh every day. Both bring in repeat customers and regulars, as do daily specials. “I run specials Monday through Saturday, like $2 off the sub of the day,” Forziati says. “It keeps people coming in.”

What revolutionized business more recently is Toast’s point-of-sale system, which has built-in online ordering features. Previously, Forziati wasn’t able to offer that without using third-party apps that slapped both him and the customer with added fees. 

“Customers would use those apps and then come and pick it up themselves,” Forziati says. “So when they’d do that, I would say, ‘Listen, I’m just letting you know, I charge more because they’re charging me a percentage. So if you live in the neighborhood, you can either call me or download the Toast app to order. It’s the same thing we use in the store, and you don’t get hit with those hidden fees.’”

Forziati says his online ordering has taken off thanks to Toast. It was especially helpful during COVID’s lockdown periods, when many North End residents found themselves working from home. Forziati was grateful to be able to offer takeout to folks across the neighborhood. 

Even during hard times, Forziati underscores the importance of a positive attitude. Plus, you have to enjoy what you do, Gomes says.

“I’m still at my restaurant at least four nights a week, on the door, doing seating, helping out, running food, you know,” she says. “And I enjoy that. “

Running a business in the North End also offers a sense of community you’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere, they add. “We all can really stick together, be good friends, and help one another. If they run out of something, they can always come get wood or napkins from me, and vice versa,” Gomes says. “The camaraderie with the neighborhood restaurants in the North End is really something special.”