Local Italian restaurant now closed, but will continue to serve customers as a mobile operation
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IDAHO FALLS — A brick and mortar Italian restaurant in downtown Idaho Falls is saying arrivederci to dine-in patrons after 18 months in business, but it’s not disappearing entirely.
Marco and Flaminia Assirelli opened Mama Fla Italian Restaurant at 385 River Parkway in September 2021. Its last day of business was Saturday.
During a conversation with EastIdahoNews.com, Flaminia explains the reason for the closure and her plans for the venture going forward.
“With my disease, it was (too hard to manage),” she says.
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The 51-year-old Italian immigrant was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2022. While recovering from a surgery last September, it’s been challenging to keep up with the workload. Flaminia says the restaurant required a staff of 10 people to cook and serve customers, and employee retention has been an ongoing issue.
“People would call in sick or not show up. Everyday we needed to run and … fix a problem. The restaurant is too stressful for me and my disease so we decided to simplify,” Flaminia says.
For the Assirellis, simplifying means opening two food trailers in front of Planet Doom at 680 1st Street. One of them has been open since September and provides the same menu that was available at the restaurant. The other one is opening next month and will serve Italian soups, salads, panini and other items that weren’t available at the restaurant.
The couple will operate year-round at this location six days a week, while also attending farmers markets in Pocatello, Idaho Falls, Driggs and Jackson during the summer.
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While the couple’s workload is now much busier, the Assirellis say the number of people involved in running a mobile operation is much easier to manage.
“The food trailer only requires one or two people (to run it),” says Flaminia.
And while the restaurant is closed to customers, Flaminia and her husband will continue to use the space for catering, pick up and delivery. They also plan to use it to prepare specific ingredients for the food trailers.
“It will not be open for dining, but everything else will be the same,” says Marco.
“Through our restaurant, we created a nice relationship with our clients. The location was super cute. We are very sorry to make the decision (to close it) but we didn’t have any other choice,” Flaminia adds.
Citizenship status and cancer recovery
In 2022, EastIdahoNews.com shared the Assirelli’s story of coming to America and applying for U.S. citizenship. At that time, the couple had been waiting 19 months for their final interview.
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As of Wednesday, Marco says nothing much has changed and it likely won’t change anytime soon. The shutdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 put the process for normal visa requests two to three years behind, their attorney says, according to Marco, and the influx of people coming into the U.S. from Mexico and South America has only added to the delay.
“Everything has slowed down and the normal situation is considered not urgent,” Marco says.
Despite the setbacks, the Assirellis say life in the U.S. is still much better than it is in Italy and they haven’t experienced any significant disadvantages from it.
Flaminia declined to speak in detail about her recovery for privacy reasons, but she did say she is doing well and is confident she will make a full recovery.
The couple is grateful for the love and support they’ve received from the community throughout their journey.
“We have faith in our God and pray for (his strength) daily,” she says. “We are a stronger family. We are close and support each other.”
Mama Fla is open 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The second trailer will cater primarily to the lunch crowd. Its hours of operation are still being determined.
Flaminia shows how she makes gnocchi carbonara — an Italian pasta dish made with eggs, cheese, bacon and black pepper — in the video above.