1903 — On St. Patrick’s day, 16-year-old Vincenzo Riccardi arrives at Ellis Island from Naples. Listed as a “Peasant” on the manifest, he only had $9.00 in his pocket.
1922 — Daughter to Italian immigrants Filimina and Vincenzo, Concetta was born in Utica, NY. She was one of five children.
Concetta grew up in upstate New York and settled into Mt. Vernon, where she married and began a family.
1949 — Concetta gives birth to her first son, Dennis (Pop). Eventually, she gives birth to two more boys and a daughter.
Pop grew up horsing around with his brothers, playing football and baseball, and working in Yonkers at the Carvel Inn, where he bussed tables.
1971 — Dennis and Mary Jane get hitched. Pop met “Janie” at a bakery she worked at and instantly knew he would marry her.
1975–1976 — Dennis and Janie leave New York for Texas and welcome their children, Lauren and Robert, into the world. Finding it impossible to find Italian food in Texas as he had back home in New York, Dennis asks his mother to teach him and his wife how to cook his family’s traditional dishes.
As a treat, Concetta would often send NY cannoli cream and Italian sausages down to Texas. When Concetta would visit Texas, she would spend most of the time cooking struffoli and ravioli as well as rolling meatballs with her grandchildren. Food always drew the family to the table, and each time they sat there together, it was a celebration.
2017 — Having grown up with a love of “good food, good wine, and good family,” Lauren took her Pop’s mantra to heart and opened Concetta’s Italian Kitchen, a catering business that cooks meals for busy families and professionals.
2020 - Concetta's Italian Kitchen launched its first retail and full-service kitchen in Prosper, Texas. Their expanded menu now includes same-day pickup options for many of the popular dishes.