Welcome To Mamma Mia's!
“A new restaurant owner in Abingdon is blending the flavors of Italy and the charm of New York City to create an authentic Italian eatery.” Written and quoted by Bristol Herald Courier writer Carolyn Wilson.
Baset Aybb and his wife, both natives of Africa, opened Mamma Mia’s Italiano Restaurante in September of after giving new life to a vacant building on Wall Street downtown.
Our Italian restaurant is housed in the same building where the popular Starving Artist Café operated in the 1990s and where, more recently, Babycakes Cupcakery ran a business.
Here at Mamma Mia’s wanted to create something for the middle of the town. The head of the town at Exit 19 is alive, the feet at Exit 14 also are alive, but we felt the stomach, which is in the middle of town, was still hungry and empty.
When we first open our best form of advertising was word of mouth. Everyone was simply telling their friends on social media how much they love the food here.
In fact, on weekends we had to turn customers away because of the overwhelming turnout. This is when we planned on opening a patio by spring. We wanted to build something that would offer our customers a true piece of Italy.
We modeled our new business after Italian restaurants found in New York City that offer a quaint and charming ambiance with the same excitement of the big city. We want it to feel Italian when you are here. In fact, we will even Italian music playing as you enjoy your meal.
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Mamma Mia's...A True Piece Of Art!
The owner and operator of Mamma Mia’s Italiano Restaurante was recently removing panels that covered the exterior wall of his building when he caught a glimpse of a colorful background.
“I had a feeling there was something behind the covering, and I was right,” said Baset Aybb, whose business occupies the former Starving Artist Café, which closed in 2007.
Aybb quickly realized he had stumbled on an outdoor wall mural by artist Shawn Crookshank, who painted the colorful designs when he owned the cafe more than 10 years ago.
Crookshank’s former restaurant combined good food and art.
Aybb, who opened his Italian restaurant on Wall Street in town last September, said a day hardly goes by that customers don’t mention their eating experiences at the Starving Artist.
Discovering what lies below the surface of the building has fueled Aybb’s plans to open an outdoor dining space for his customers, who will have front-row seats for viewing the nearly 30-foot mural. Aybb said an outdoor wall space next to the mural will also get a facelift by Cathy Hess, of Wild Orchid Design Studio, and will be unveiled when the dining area opens in April.
“I want people to come here to also enjoy their memories of the Starving Artist Café,” said Aybb, who sees the new discovery as a resurrection of those times. “I want people to come, sit and look. They will be talking about Starving Artist every time they are here.”
After Aybb contacted Crookshank, who is now a seafood clerk at Kroger in Abingdon, an agreement was made for the artist to retouch the mural and give it a new lease on life.
The uncovered mural on the west side of the building showcases a funky African-style of art that Crookshank became known for many years ago.
“I call this my Jones series. This guy doesn’t look like the other guys I painted. He has horns, and he’s holding an artist palette. I guess he’s my alter ego,” Crookshank said with a laugh. “I put horns on him because I’m a Taurus.
“I’ve had art shows with nothing but the Jones series. They still sell,” said Crookshank, who exhibits his artwork at Rain Restaurant and Wolf Hills Brewing Co., both in Abingdon.
“Years ago, I would work on the mural during my shifts at lunch and dinnertime and paint a little bit at a time,” he said. “It was a stress reliever for me.
More Mamma Mia News Articles
By Joe Tennis
ABINGDON, Va. — Oh, Mamma Mia!
That’s not just the name of a restaurant; it’s also the title of a popular pizza.
Come here to Abingdon’s Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant, and you’ll find owner and operator Basset Ayyeb calling his pizza “the next level after normal.”
That’s what he calls “professional.”
“This is more than the next level, the professional way of it,” Ayyeb said. “Everything is popular. Because, when you do something professional, my friend, everything is popular.”
And it’s local.
By Joe Tennis Bristol Herald Courier
New mural at Mamma Mia’s will have you looking twice
ABINGDON, Va. — You can have a fun time getting geographically lost in the mural depicting Abingdon landmarks at the Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant in Abingdon.
This summertime addition to the patio showed up thanks to the painstaking paintbrush skills of Elizabeth Scroggin.
A native of Montgomery, Alabama, Scroggin holds a fine art degree from Auburn University. Now 64, Scroggin moved to Abingdon more than 30 years ago and has taught classes at Abingdon’s William King Museum of Art. She has also painted a mural at the Abingdon Cinemall.
By Joe Tennis Bristol Herald Courier
Take a bite of Halloween: Restaurant offering pizza with black crust
ABINGDON, Va. — In honor of Halloween, restaurant owner Basset Ayyeb is offering the dark side of the dough.
For one night only, Ayyeb has brought a “Black Pizza” to the menu of Mamma Mia Italian Restaurant, located inside the former Starving Artist Cafe at Abingdon’s Depot Square.
He didn’t want something red, he said because that would seem like blood…
“Let’s not go there,” said Ayyeb, 44.
