With a Dash of Chilean and Italian Spice, Restaurant Owners Win Chamber Honor

Matthew Hersh

We all know Teresa's Cafe Italiano, lodged near the arch on Chambers Walk on Palmer Square East. And in the summertime we can't help but notice the lucky diners sitting outside of Mediterra, enjoying sangria and tapas. Then, lest we forget, there's the Witherspoon Bread Company, with its "Herbal Garden" serving as a constant reminder that the local-foods movement is alive and well in Princeton.

All three of these local culinary landmarks are the successful projects of Raoul and Carlo Momo, two restaurateurs who, in a relatively short period of time, have made an indelible impression on Princeton's local business landscape.

Today, the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce is awarding the Momo brothers its "Innovator of the Year" award, which goes to an organization that has been "instrumental in promoting change and innovation in their industry, their field of interest, or in the communities of the Princeton region."

"Carlo and Raoul are people that we look to go talk to when there's an issue that we're struggling with in terms of knowing which way to support an issue or not," said Chamber of Commerce President Kristin Appelget.

As business and property owners in town, the Momos have established a presence that is known to virtually all who are familiar with what downtown has to offer.

Having opened in Princeton on Nassau Street in 1987, Teresa's moved to its current location in 1990. Mediterra followed shortly thereafter, and in 1998, the Witherspoon Bread Company opened at its current location across from the Princeton Public Library. With three businesses in close proximity to one another, there is almost an obligation to be proactive in the community, but ownership, according to Raoul Momo, is certainly not the driving force.

"You work so hard in running a business, you often miss the positive impact you have on a community," Mr. Momo said. "To win such an award, from our perspective, we don't know what we did to win it," he quipped.

Of course he knows, but pinpointing when that community involvement actually began is harder to specify. As young entrepreneurs in the 1980s, Mr. Momo said, most of their time was spent trying to get their business off the ground.

So, as the owners of three establishments in Princeton, along with the soon-to-be-opened Eno Terra in Kingston, Nova Terra in New Brunswick, and most recently, the acquisition of Eccoqui in Bernardsville, when did their enterprise go from being a small pizza shop on Nassau Street to a dominant force on the local business front?

"I recall from day one, when we opened in Palmer Square in 1990, we invited the recently-elected Mayor Marvin Reed. So you always try to be involved in the community, even in the very beginning."

But it wasn't until after the opening of the Witherspoon Bread Company in 1998, Mr. Momo said, that other merchants started to look to the brothers for advice. As the Momos began to work with other businesses, they began maintaining the virtual merchants "collective" that is strongly evident today.

"With three businesses in town, all of a sudden we became more than just a business, we had a big commitment to the community," Mr. Momo said. Most recently, that commitment has extended to sponsoring a folly at the Writers Block, and catering several of the literary garden's events. At one point, the brothers sold Small World Coffee products and Nassau Seafood fish at their restaurants.

Regionally, Terra Momo restaurants support and purchase products from Griggstown Poultry Farm, Lucy's Ravioli Kitchen & Market, and several local organic farmers.

This support of local industry stems not only from good will, Mr. Momo said, but from a wish to stay true to their fundamental beliefs as restaurant owners. With their mother from Italy and father from Chile, the brothers have been able to adeptly mix the "old world and the new world."

"The mix has always been a part of our background; there's always been an influence. The roots say a lot about our appreciation for the good things the earth produces.

"In the past, we've tried to simplify and 'American-ize' our way of running our business. We've tried it, and what we found was every time we went away from our roots, being authentic products made from scratch, our business suffered," Mr. Momo said.

But, he added, it paid to stay true to themselves.

"Every time we went back to our roots, the business prospered. People appreciate the authenticity we try to produce."