MAMA'S PASTA & BREW - CAMPUS LEGEND

                                                                                                       
HISTORY - 23 CAMPUS PLACE

In the 1940's a restaurant called The Pantry operated in the alley off High Street. There was large windows and a full service menu was served to OSU students and teachers. A pool hall and an barbershop were open for business across the alley. I have had folks come in to Mama's who said they worked at The Pantry in the 50's. In the 1960's, a Mom and Pop restaurant called Roma's served spaghetti dinners on red and white checkered tablecloths. The Emmanuals were the owners.

In 1975 the current wood paneling and bowling alley bar was installed and a Bar called Froggy's was opened.
They used to have great burgers and fries. When you turned 21 you were given a cheap bottle of red wine. I had one here and promptly gave it back to the alley.

In 1977, Gene Szaronas opened Mama's Pasta and Brew. He had just recently graduated from OSU and a lot of his friends from the Greek community frequented Mama's to help the business get going.
Ester, the five foot accordion lady who sang way off key started to play at Mama's and was a huge success. Tuesday nights were crazy. Gene likes to still make an appearance and still has a lot of pride and good memories for the business he started.

In 1981, Pat Hitesman purchased the bar and operated it in a wacky fashion. Pat was quite a character and had just as many regulars who were also off the wall. In JANUARY of 1983, Terry Fahy bought the bar and struggled to get it going in the direction he wanted it to go. Now 29 years later, Mama's has become a legend and outlasted over 25 other bars who are now gone. Terry introduced
outdoor activites, rafting trips, softball sponsorships, golf outings and various other road trips so all the regulars had social activities to do around drinking and eating at Mama's.

A special thanks goes to Michael Malone Smith and Sean O'Neil who convinced Terry to buy dart boards. We have now had competitve dart leagues for over 27 years. I consider it an honor when so many alumni always come back to Mama's. They can almost always see a face and a smile at the bar they know. The waitresses and the bartenders always are glad to see you and have great personality's. We have over 200 people who claim to be regulars. I call some irregular regulars. There have been at least six couples meet at Mama's and subsequently get married...Who knows you may be the next victim. A special mention goes to the Hall of Famers. The Hall of Fame induction at the annual Christmas party is my favorite night of the year. It is great to see someone's face light up in a huge smile and everyone in the bar screaming and yelling in support of that person. We have over 50 people in the Hall of Fame now. Every person in the Hall of Fame gets to cast votes for the next years class.....

In closing I am honored to have the privilege to own Mama's and to have met so many fantastic
people. You should come to Mamas' and discover its magic!

Live Life to its Fullest:
  Terry