Popular Newton restaurateur makes friends and Italian meals

NEWTON, Kan. (KSNW) – The city of Newton is well-known for its rail yard and the many railways that crisscross the town. Golfers know Newton for its top-notch golf course, Sand Creek Station. Those who enjoy eating Italian food know the place to go is Genova Italian Restaurant.

Located in Cedar Village on Washington Street, Genova is also known for the friendly woman who runs the entire operation, owner Rosie Martin.

“I’ve been the manager, the owner, the server, the one that answers the phone, the hostess, everything,” Rosie said.

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Rosie was born in Spain. She is one of 14 children from parents who came from Spain and Italy. When she was young, she told her father about her dream of going to the United States someday.

Rosie arrived in Chicago at the age of 17.

“I told my dad one time when I was 17 years old, I said ‘I want to go to the States. I want to have a husband and a baby. A whole family. I’d like to speak English and drive and do what other people does. And the last thing I want to do is I wanted to have a restaurant,'” she told her father.

Rosie married in Chicago and later divorced. She also experienced the loss of a child when her daughter died at age three. Not long after that, she decided to pick up and move to St. Louis. She remarried, but a few years later, her husband also died.

Rosie needed a change.

She decided this was the time to pursue her dream of running a restaurant. She searched online for towns that didn’t have an Italian restaurant.

That’s what brought her to Newton.

“So, what I did is I came here. I was sitting in the parking lot, and I was thinking, ‘I’m gonna do something,'” said Rosie.

So, she set up a meeting with the owner of a vacant space.

“He said, ‘Rosie, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to get it,'” Rosie recalled.

She was told six different restaurants had occupied the space in the previous three years, and all of them had failed.

“So, I said to him, ‘You know what? Just give me a chance. That’s all I need,'” said Rosie.

That was almost 10 years ago, in 2014. Now, business at Genova is good. Very good. Martin has a large staff, which includes her brother, Francisco.

“The food is just exquisite. I just had something tonight that is out of this world, and it’s just ravioli, but the sauce is perfection,” said Newton resident Cindy Briscoe.

“There are two things that make this restaurant very special. The first is Rosie, the owner, and she’s the heart. The food is amazing,” said Jacque Wedel of Newton.

Six years ago, the woman with a dream who came halfway around the world and ended up in a small Kansas town bought the restaurant that she previously managed.

“Everybody knows me here. I don’t treat my customers like they’re my customers. I treat them like myself,” she said.

“So, Rosie knows all of her customers. She goes around to all of her tables. She just makes us feel like we’re at home,” added Wedel.

David Briscoe says he and his wife eat at Genova probably once a month. He says he enjoys giving Rosie a hard time because she gives it right back.

“Every time we come in here, it seems like she knows everybody who comes in. She’s just a friend to everyone,” said Briscoe.

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Everyone who walks in the door is more than a customer to Rosie.

“They are, they made my life. This is my family. It’s a family that you don’t have to choose because you’re in the family,” she said. “This is the family that I chose. They make me really, really happy.”

Genova Italian Restaurant is located at 1021 Washington Road, in Newton. If you call their number at 316-587-8099, Rosie is likely to answer. The restaurant’s hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Genova is closed on Mondays.

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