The Mignano brothers took to the picturesque, terraced hills of Glen Rock enough to invest their time and money into a distinctively European-style restaurant.
The Mignano Bros. Ristorante Italiano opened last week and already boasts a half-dozen floral arrangements from grateful patrons.
Giuseppe Mignano (pronounced Mee?-yan-o) finished unrolling the long rubber mat at the entry and stepped to the left into the carry-out room where nine stools fit under a narrow counter facing the street ? ala Italy, Mignano said. The stools will accommodate people on the move, such as users of the nearby York County Heritage Rail Trail.
He moved to the non-smoking dining room opposite the front door, and pointed to the fake brick, beige walls that he installed throughout. Two mounted photographs of his family?s hometown, Carini in Sicily, inspired him to reproduce the colors and arches in the pictures.
?I put in all the floors,? Mignano said. ?It was nine months of hard work, but I am happy with it because it looks different from everybody else.?
Two large, Italian-style bathrooms each have a window and are handicapped accessible, the proud owner said.
?I like two levels,? he said while leading the way up a half-dozen stairs to a second dining room. ?Nothing is square in this building.?
Seven years ago, the three brothers and their parents immigrated to the United States, Mignano said. They lived in Carroll County, Md., and worked for other people. Then, they discovered Glen Rock and opened Mamma?s Pizza.
The brothers ran Mamma?s Pizza for three years before investing more than $100,000, muscles and sweat into their new restaurant, Mignano said.
His brother, Salvatore, stepped indoors to help prepare for the day. The third brother, Gianluca, was still across the street in the closed Mamma?s Pizza building.
Their father, Jack, stepped out of the kitchen where homemade rolls were rising under waxed paper. Freshly baked submarine sandwich rolls filled a bin.
Their mother, Grace, smoothed tablecloths on the tables and set out napkins holding place settings.
?My mother and father do the food preparations,? Mignano said. ?My two brothers cook. My mother does all the desserts, cannoli and cream puffs.?
They all learned to cook in Italy with recipes passed from one generation to the next.
?We do everything from scratch here,? Mignano said. ?We make our own crab cakes. We use fresh eggplants.?
He stopped at the dining room windows that overlook a large area between the restaurant and library. Mignano said he looked forward to the day the borough paves it for community use.
He smiled and pointed to ducks paddling in the South Branch of Codorus Creek that flows behind the restaurant, the future parking lot and library.
?That gives us atmosphere,? Mignano said. ?People love it.?
A curbside sign warns drivers ?Slow. Duck crossing.?
The borough has applied for grant money so it can install a public parking lot to benefit the downtown businesses, Secretary-Treasurer Jean Greene said.
?We are tickled about the restaurant,? Greene said. ?We know they will do a good job. They are hard-working fellows.?
The building for Mignano Bros. began life as the Glen Rock post office, Greene said. When the post office left, Coover?s Drug Store moved in, then a plumbing business, an Oasis Sno-ball stand and York Elevator.
Hilda Jungclaus, a resident of Glen Rock for 11 years, enthusiastically praised her favorite new restaurant.
?The food is wonderful,? Jungclaus said. ?The flavor is great. It?s a little bit different from what you would find in a chain restaurant.?
Jungclaus said she, her husband and brother-in-law have sampled five different dishes, ranging from perfectly prepared calamari, or squid, to seafood combinations; chicken Alfredo with a nice cream sauce to peppy rigatoni arrabiata, a spicy marinara sauce with feta cheese.
The Mignano brothers? use of spices and herbs brings the Jungclaus family back for more.
?They work so hard and are so pleasant,? Jungclaus said. ?This gives you a nice alternative. If you want steak, they have steak. They still have subs.?
She welcomed their transition from Mamma?s Pizza to a full-scale, reasonably priced restaurant with generous helpings.
Mignano said he hoped to stay in the building forever.