Meet Nash and Brina D’Amico of D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe in Rice Village

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nash and Brina D’Amico.

Nash and Brina, please share your story with us. 
Nash: I was fortunate to be born into and be a member of one of the city’s most successful restaurant families. In 1975, my cousins and I opened our first restaurant in Huntsville, Texas. After a few years there, I came to Houston and from then on and continuing today, restaurant guides and dining directories have always had a D’Amico-owned property, be it D’Amico’s Ristorante Italiano, Nash D’Amico’s Pasta & Clam Bar or D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe.

In 1996, however, the time and energy it was taking to run a chain of restaurants while staying active in raising a family and church and charitable events, made me re-evaluate the course of my career. My decision was to return to what I loved best – running a casual, family restaurant where I can greet customers by name and still have a life outside of the kitchen. That was the beginning of D’Amico’s Italian Market Café, returning to the area where it all began in Rice Village.

Brina: Calling D’Amico’s Italian Market Café a family restaurant could be referring both to the generations of guests who dine there or to that my father and I own it. I literally grew up in the restaurant business – photographs exist of me in a crib in one of my father’s restaurant offices. As I grew older, the D’Amico sense of independence set in, and I was determined to find a different career and set off to do so. Fortunately or unfortunately, I needed a little extra spending money while in college so I went to work in a restaurant. The bug bit and I was back.

I graduated from the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston and began focusing on catering at D’Amico’s. And then, several years ago, I became co-owner. I handle our catering and special event activities as well as the many facets of overseeing the day-to-day duties at their restaurant.

And like my father, I spend a lot of time in community volunteering and raising three daughters. I’m very active in their school, including serving on the St. Anne School Foundation Board of Trustees and being a hands-on volunteer for both the school and innumerable other organizations in the community.

Has it been a smooth road?
Nash: The restaurant business is simply not an easy business. There is so much more involved than just preparing and serving food. There is staffing, accounting, maintenance and supplying. There is always something or several things demanding attention. I went from running a single, small restaurant with my cousins to running multiple upscale restaurants across the area, some of the hours apart. There is never enough time, and right when things seem to be running smoothly, you realize food trends are changing, new places are opening and suddenly you’re becoming an ‘old’ restaurant. The challenges are just immense. And yet, it’s in your blood, and every day you walk into your restaurant or restaurants, you have this feeling of satisfaction you’re making people happy. I wouldn’t be in any other business

Brina: I grew up knowing how much and how hard my father worked. Restaurants were our lives. When it came time for me to head off to college, I had to ask myself, “Did I really want to go to work with my father? After all, we are Italians and emotions tend to run high. Wouldn’t I be happier starting a different career that wouldn’t be so grueling and time constricting?” I knew I eventually wanted children and being a mother would be my number one job.

I refused to give in to the restaurant called, and headed off to school at the University of Houston, not entirely certain what I wanted to get a degree in, but determined to find something. It was around this time, I met a professor named, JeAnna Abbott. She took a lot of time outside of class to let me pick her brain. She gave me my first real inside look at event planning as part of the hospitality industry, and suddenly, I was pretty sure what I wanted to do. Honestly, that’s what kept me in the college, because at that point in my life, restaurants were still not going to be in my future.

Who was it who said, “Life is what happens while you’re making other plans?”
I did indeed begin working in catering and event planning, but before long my father and I had the idea that catering would be a perfect addition to D’Amico’s Italian Market Café in Rice Village. I was not in the restaurant business, I said. I was in catering and event planning. You know the rest of the story.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe story. Tell us more about the business.
For more than 20 years, D’Amico’s Italian Market Café in Rice Village has been known as Houston’s own Little Italy. While the always-bustling spot is well known as a full-service Italian restaurant, it still comes as a surprise to some to discover it’s also a fully-stocked Italian deli and market.

As diners indulge in both traditional and innovative Southern Italian dishes like handmade sandwiches, fire-roasted pizzas, house-made pasta and an array of seafood, other customers are shopping the shelves for imported olive oils, Italian peppers, fresh pastas, cheeses and more.

It’s hard to find a place that feels more Italian than this. But while tradition is at the heart of what D’Amico’s offers Houston every day, that doesn’t mean one can’t expect surprising new dishes, drinks or other specials on almost every visit. In 2017, the restaurant added full beverage service, offering both classic and imaginative new cocktails. In 2018, construction began on a whole new dining area that will not only offer more seating, but also a space for private events.

Dining, shopping, family, friends and socializing. They all come together on a daily basis at D’Amico’s Italian Market Café. It doesn’t get much more Italian than that.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Nash: At one time, I thought I was setting the world on fire bringing true Sothern Italian food to Houston, which back in the 1970s was nowhere near being the culinary city it is now. But over the last 30 years, so many different cultures and countries have moved into the restaurant community. I see chefs pairing things we would never have considered putting in the same pan even 15 years ago. When I started, we used what we could find to make food as close to authentic as we could. Today, if you’re looking for a certain kind of tomato, a certain spice or specific kinds of cheese or vegetables, it’s available. Chances are, it’s grown or made here. The change is fantastic, but with it comes the challenge to not get complacent, not stop experimenting with new dishes or finding ways old ones can become new again. Freshness, availability, and imagination are big keywords these days.

Brina: When I started working as an adult, things were starting to change, but people still looked at foods and dishes they had never heard of rather skeptically. Put something edgy on the menu, and it probably wouldn’t stay. Today, people may love their comfort food, but they also have a fascination with new and exotic. That includes cocktails, which we added to D’Amico’s a year ago. People love signature cocktails. The ironic part of this is there are a growing and equally strong demand for the old dishes. We may sell plate after plate of crawfish ravioli, but there’s never a slowdown for people wanting out spaghetti and meatballs. I think people see food as both a necessity and as entertainment. It’s an adventure.

Contact Info:

• Address: 5510 Morningside in Rice Village
• Website: www.Damico-cafe.com
• Phone: 713-526-3400
• Email: nash@damico-cafe.com brina@damico-cafe.com
• Facebook: D’amico’s Italian Market Cafe

Image Credit:
Nash & Brina together photo by Anthony Rathbun

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