Eatery owners lauded for effort to reopen

It’s fair to say that many of us enjoy a comeback story with a successful outcome. That’s why we couldn’t help but feeling good after reading the recent News-Herald story about the reincarnation of Mama Catena Ristorante in Euclid .

The story reported on how the Catena family is preparing for the February grand reopening of its eatery at 711 Babbitt Road, which was heavily damaged by a fire on May 6, 2017.

Since the blaze, which was caused by an electrical problem, and specifically in advance of resuming business, the family has worked tirelessly with insurance agents, designers, a water extraction team, construction and building supply personnel, and restaurant equipment salespeople.

While restoring their restaurant has been a formidable challenge, perhaps dealing with these duties seemed therapeutic for the Catenas compared with the emotional turbulence they experienced because of the fire.

“This gave us pause, literally,” said Rina Catena, who plans events at the restaurant part time.

“This has been the most challenging ... experience of our lives. That day, we had events planned. My sister, Fran (Lausin), called me and said, ‘I think there’s something wrong at the restaurant.’ I stayed calm, but when I turned on Babbitt (Road), I saw a sea of red lights, police lights and the street partially closed. Then it hit me — this is real.

“Fire departments from different cities came to aid us. I called my parents, both in their 80s, and told them everything was OK, that everyone was fine, but that there was little fire in the restaurant. The vision will never leave my mind.”

After the retrieval of several items, including family heirlooms, the gravity of the disaster began to sink in for Rina, Fran and their nephew, Frank Catena, who said everyone was in a state of shock.

“It was an emotional bombshell,” he said.

“We’ve been through so much. There were actually two intermediate periods, the initial disbelief and superficial surveying of the damage, and then coming back later, when you know there’s a bunch of stuff to do.

“It’s the endorphin rush, you know?

“You’ve gone through all that adrenaline all day. By the end of that first night, people might have been confused that we weren’t upset. We were out of our minds, assessing, laughing, watching the news.

“Next thing you know we’re all crying again.”

In the aftermath of the fire, however, the family’s spirits were buoyed by community members who expressed their support.

The community rushed to console them, including, customers, neighbors, Euclid police, off-duty Euclid firefighters and even the city’s mayor, Kirsten Holzheimer Gail, who, Fran and Rina said, left her son’s baseball game to come to the scene to hug them.

“That was awesome,” Fran said.

“We received so many texts and letters expressing support. The outpouring of love was out of control.

“We are so appreciative of the police, the fire department, everyone. They all realize this is not just our place, it’s our livelihood.”

What impressed us about the Catenas is their fortitude and determination in the aftermath of the fire.

Although they faced heavy emotional and financial burdens created by the blaze, the Catenas resolved that their path moving forward would lead to restoring Mama Catena’s Ristorante. The restaurant opened in May 1989 and has been owned and operated by the family, including Fran and Rina’s parents, Giuseppina and Francesco, ever since.

“We had to reopen,” Fran said.

“This is what we do for other people. We are Euclid, Mama Catena’s is Euclid. We could have moved, but we are the city. We live here.

“We owe it to Euclid and we owe it to our tremendous customers.”

We join with all of the Catenas’ friends and customers in expressing our excitement that the family decided to perform extensive renovations and refurbishing after the fire and start anew with Mama Catena’s Ristorante.

While the comeback story, for the family and its business, reaches a conclusion of sorts when the grand reopening takes place, that milestone also will usher in what we hope will be a new success story for the Catenas and their restaurant.

At this point, we’ll conclude with a salute to the Catena family for all that they have accomplished following the blaze in working to regain their livelihood.

Here’s hoping that the future of their reopened business will be filled with happiness and prosperity.