It all began with just a small candy store.
This was the Italian Maid Cafe's modest beginning, in a small two room building on Fourth Street in Richmond, Texas. As Lanie Alvarez's business took hold she expanded her service to include lunchtime deli-sandwiches and then soon added a full service espresso bar. The business continued to grow and prosper until it became apparent they had out-grown their current premises and were in need of a new location AND a full-time Chef. Meanwhile, Alex Ciocca, Lanie's brother, had just finished culinary school and was looking for a place to hang his pots and pans.

As fate would have it an historic building on Morton Street, just around the corner from the candy-deli shop, became available. Lanie and her husband Jose quickly bought the property which today houses the Italian Maid Cafe. Co-owners, Lanie and Alex, named their restaurant after a nickname given to their mother by their father. Lanie and Alex have always had roots in the food business. They grew up in a family where good food and hospitality are a matter of family pride, often making their own sauces and pasta by hand. Their father started a pizza crust business in Pittsburgh. And their grandfather's family baked Italian bread to get through the Depression. So it's no surprise that they continue their family traditions and heritage with the Italian Maid Cafe.