Downtown Peabody Welcomes Little Italy Cafe

Sharon Meehan knows what it is like to run a family-owned restaurant. Her parents operated the Kounty Kitchen eatery in her native North Scituate, R.I., for 35 years before they sold it.

Meehan decided a year ago she wanted to open her own place and with the help of her boyfriend, Roger Paradiso, Little Italy Cafe on 46 Main St. opened for business last week.

On Monday morning, Mayor Michael Bonfanti, Deanne Healey, president and CEO of the and other members of the business community celebrated the new business with a ribbon cutting.

Inside, Bonfanti and Meehan cut a cake provided by Celeste Grenier-Ross, owner of Creative Cakes of Salem, to mark the occassion while restaurant staff served up the new Italian eatery's homemade meatballs and square Sicilian-style pizza.

When asked why she decided to lease the 932 square-foot space from Bill Woods, owner of the , next door, Meehan replied that Peabody seemed like a good place to try such a new venture.

"The economy in Rhode Island isn't very good right now," she said. "I've been very impressed with the chamber of commerce."

Meehan said she also likes the North Shore a great deal and believes that Peabody has the right mix of clientele who will like being able to sit, drink flavored coffee and eat Bari Italian pastries or do take out. She chose to go with an Italian-style restaurant because "Italian is a flavor that everyone always goes back to."

Bonfanti also said going with a new Italian restaurant in downtown Peabody makes sense because 31 percent of the city's population are of Italian descent.

Paradiso said Little Italy Cafe, which join the ranks of other eateries such as on Foster Street, Toscana's Ristorante in West Peabody and across the street, will offer some unique fare.

He claims the new restaurant is the only one on the North Shore that makes square Sicilian-style pizza. He also said they make homemade meatballs and chicken parmesan.

Meehan said the menu also contains many items that very affordable, which should also appeal to working families. "If you can serve good food at the right price, it's that simple."