Behind the Scenes: Mulberry on Main Italian Restaurant & Catering

The following is a brief family history of the Gubitosi's, the owners of "Mulberry On Main Italian Restaurant and Catering" at 217 E Main Street, scheduled to open on December 20:

My name is Gennarino Gubitosi but everyone calls me Jerry. My wife, Bernadette and I are blessed with seven beautiful daughters, Elise, Nicole, Antoniette,Cassandra, Alexis, Victoria and Genna and finally, a grandson, Dominic and son-in-law Kyle. My wife and I have a love for food, family and friends. This passion to gather together to share our love for each other over a great meal has been handed down for generations.

My family originally came to America in the early 1900's, when my great-grandfather settled down in what is now known as "Little Italy" in New York. He stayed here for a few years and went back to Italy after serving in Africa at the beginning of World War I. He returned to Benevento, Italy near Naples and continued to raise his family working in the industry. His brother remained in New York raising his family and eventually moved out west to California where he tried to get his family into the acting business. He succeed with his son, Mickey Gubitosi, who landed a part in the comedy series The Little Rascals and later changed his name to Robert Blake and found fame as the quirky cop Baretta. But that's the other side of the family. My mother Anotonietta and father Luciano met in that small town of Italy where I was born in 1961. We came to the United States in 1966 on the Christopher Columbus ship to Ellis Island and settled down in New York City, but did not stay for too long. We returned to Italy after my sister Maria was born and stayed there long enough to have another sister, Elisabetta. We decided to give America another chance and this time sailed to Ellis Island on the Michaelangela. Shortly after that my sister MichelleAngela was born. I think we were the only family in New York that "came off the boat" twice!

I began helping my mother in the kitchen and found I loved to cook. When I was eighteen I worked in a busy New Jersey Pizzeria then worked my way up the line of a four star Italian restaurant. I learned from some of the best. After meeting my wife we moved to Hackettstown, New Jersey where we began our family and our restaurant. We opened "Casa Gennaro's" in 1986 where we remained open until September 10, 2001. God's timing is, as always, perfect! After the attack on 9/11 the economy in New York and New Jersey went through a temporary slump, especially the restaurant business. I found work with the Labor Union at Ground Zero and continued working there for two years. In January of 2004, we decided to move to North Carolina to seek a better life for our girls and I found myself back in the restaurant business, unable to stay away from my passion for food and especially for cooking for others. We established our corporate catering business which has grown into a successful endeavor and now are excited about serving our new paisans of Clayton.

My mother, sisters and their families have also relocated here to Clayton and we are all looking forward to serving you with authentic, Italian food in a relaxed atmosphere. Buon Appetitio!