December 1, 2017: Met with Micheal and Suzie, the restaurant owners. They wanted to see the cache so I showed them the container at the GZ. They are happy to allow the cache here.
Mama Louisa has been serving her homemade pasta and other Italian cuisine since 1956, using her family's recipes brought to the USA by her grandmother, as they still do today.
The restaurant was built on a dirt road leading to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1956. Since 1973, it has been owned and operated by the Elefante family. Mama Louisa's neon sign has been around since the 1950s. It is maintained by Fluoresco Lighting and Signs, which must be why it has such a newly restored appearance.
All of the murals on the walls are the original paintings from artist Jose de la Flora, save for one added in the 1970s by artist Paul Sheldon. All pasta is made fresh daily. Don't miss: Joe's Special. Hands down. Whatever you end up with at Mama Louisa's, make sure it includes Joe's Special - linguine with hot pepper seeds, garlic and sauce.
The restaurant still gets visits by some of its original customers, some of whom are turning 90.
One of the new owners, Micheal Elefante, says they're gently tweaking the restaurant's interior decor. But Elefante knows he can't change things up too much. "I call her a fisherman," he says of the restaurant he grew up in, washing dishes at the age of eight. "She reels us in. You start going too far out and she reels us back in and reminds us of where we are."
FTF: jaysjunk2000!
Thanks to Raven Art Studio for pointing us towards this sign to add to the series. If you have seen a vintage neon sign, please let us know!
Source: http://tucson.com/entertainment/neon-in-tucson/article_d3e53c76-0de8-59f9-bd07-3db542cb98bd.html