Casa Nuova’s Family Took Out a $200,000 Loan to Keep Staff Paid

When the pandemic shut down Casa Nuova’s dining room, the Fundora family kept paying the people who worked there. Maria Fundora says doing so, while covering the restaurant’s bills, meant taking out a $200,000 personal loan.

Years later, the family is still repaying it.

“We are still paying that loan, but we feel that we have survived,” Fundora told North Atlanta Star in written answers about the restaurant’s nearly three decades in Alpharetta.

Casa Nuova received some federal Paycheck Protection Program assistance, she said, but the family also borrowed personally. The full-service Italian restaurant shifted to takeout food and wine sales, operating as what Fundora described as a bodega.

Through the shutdown, she said, they continued paying all their employees.

Now, as Casa Nuova prepares for its 30th anniversary, Fundora runs the business with the three children who grew up alongside it.

The children grew into the business

Pepe was 10 when Casa Nuova opened. Cari was four. Alex had not yet turned one.

Today, they are their mother’s business partners. Pepe is the executive chef and is pursuing further sommelier training. Alex works in the dining room and handles much of the accounting. Cari oversees creative work and social media and serves as chief maître d’.

Maria remains on the floor and in the dining room, too.

She and her husband, chef Antonio “Tony” Fundora, were the original owners. Tony died in October 2021. Maria continued running the restaurant, with the children taking on the responsibilities that now stretch across the kitchen, guest service and business operations.

A restaurant close to home

The family’s connection to the neighborhood began before Casa Nuova. Maria said she has lived in the same house since 1987, two blocks from the restaurant.

After selling their Buckhead restaurant in 1996, she and Tony took some time off. A sign going up on a nearby corner drew them back into the business.

They wanted to recapture the intimacy of their original restaurant, Alfredo’s: a small place where they would know the guests.

Over the years, those relationships have extended across generations. Fundora said the family now serves customers they first met as children, along with their families. Some relationships go back more than 30 years.

Getting ready for the next anniversary

The restaurant has recently refurbished its bathrooms, bar and entryway. Work on the dining room is continuing gradually ahead of the 30th anniversary.

Technology has changed how the family handles payments and promotes the business. The children’s roles include work that barely existed when the restaurant opened, particularly social media.

Fundora says the traditional Italian menu and recipes have remained consistent, along with the old-Italy feel of the dining room.

“We are so proud of our consistency,” she said.

Photos courtesy of Casa Nuova.