By: Deborah Johnson Wood
Nancy Ketteman’s grandfather, a native
Italian, taught her how to make marinara sauce when she was 10. And
even though her new eatery, Nunzia’s Café, is founded on her Italian
heritage (Nunzia is Italian for Nancy) she doesn’t intend to limit the
menu.
The café opened March 12 in the Calder Plaza Building, 250 Monroe. Owners Josh Broek and Andy Cole also own Taco Bob’s
in the same building. Nancy and her husband, Bob, created both
restaurants from their headquarters in Portage; they’ve developed a
franchise for Taco Bob’s and intend to do the same with Nunzia’s Café.
In the meantime, they’re helping Broek and Cole run the café.
“Grandpa always asked me why we didn’t
open an Italian restaurant instead of a Mexican one,” Nancy says. “The
owners of the building offered us the space. We said no, but when they
asked us again we decided to open a place with Italian food.”
The marinara sauce is the same recipe
Nancy made with her grandfather. The meatballs are also a family
recipe. The menu also offers pasta, fresh salads and made-to-order
sandwiches. The open-face egg salad sandwich, topped with cheese and
toasted, is a popular choice.
“Our baked mac and cheese is made with
small seashell pasta that holds the creamy, cheesy sauce,” Nancy says,
“and there are some other secret ingredients I can’t tell you.”
Every menu item comes in two sizes, and customers can enjoy two items and a drink for $5.99.
The Ketteman’s daughter, Katie, is an
interior design student in Florence, Italy. She brought Italian
influence to the café’s interior—a Tuscan color palette and family
photos of Nancy’s grandparents and trips to Italy.
When the warm weather hits, Nunzia’s Café will offer outdoor grill dining on the Ottawa Avenue side of the building.
Source: Nancy Ketteman, Nunzia’s Café
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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