Italian Family Tradition Fuels Maddalena’s in Kent

A building that sat vacant for a dozen years in the city of Kent’s Mill District now houses Maddalena’s Italian Ristorante, where co-owners Mandy Yannucci and Emily Hansford welcome lunch and dinner diners with Italian classics and a convivial vibe. The pair, who met working in the hospitality industry, opened what they call their “casual fine dining” restaurant in July 2025, after Hansford pitched the idea two years earlier.

Yannucci handles the restaurant’s front-of-house operations, while Hansford is the chef. The menu at Maddelena’s is divided into antipasti, pizza, entrees and pasta. The meatballs topped with ricotta and served with marinara have been on the menu since the start, although most dishes change about every three months — a fun challenge for Hansford whose love for cooking dates to childhood.

“I’d have dinner parties in school, and my grandma and I always cooked together,” she says. “I had a Bon Appetit subscription in high school.”

During a late-summer visit, we tried the Salsiccia e Patate, a wood-fired pizza topped with Italian sausage, caramelized onions, roasted potatoes, lemon and taleggio. Hanford says the Rigatoni Alla Zozzona, featuring Italian sausage, pancetta, tomato sauce, egg yolk and parmigiano Reggiano is a hit. Then, there is the house-made gelato that the menu encourages diners to save room for and for good reason. 

Radiatore con zucca at Maddalena’s in Kent (photo by Laura Watilo Blake)

“This is probably the first restaurant I’ve ever worked in where the majority of people get dessert,” Yannucci says. “Even if they say, ‘no, [I’m] done,’ I still am going to list the flavors of gelato. … and the second I’m done, they’re like, ‘Yep, got to get that.’ ”

Each dish is served on mismatched plates. Initially, these were passed down from the owners’ families but are now donated by repeat visitors, who love sharing dishes that would otherwise collect dust. Such eclectic choices contribute to the restaurant’s grandma’s-house atmosphere, and it is, after all, named in honor of Yannucci’s grandmother, Maddalena Bruno. Black-and-white photos of Hansford and Yannucci’s families, including a wedding portrait of Maddalena and her husband, Mercurio, hang in gold frames on an exposed brick wall inside the restaurant. 

“I just love the feel of the restaurant, the vibes of the restaurant, the way people communicate here … it’s very reminiscent of growing up in an Italian home,” Yannucci says. “Everybody gets loud … people are meeting each other, and tables next to each other are talking.” 

252 N. Water St., Kent 44240, 330/593-5010, maddalenaskent.com

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