Mama Tosca’s restaurant owner remembered during service at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton church
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Many of you know her as Mama, the creative cook with a fire like no other who helped found Mama Tosca’s.
She loved to serve good jokes and great Italian food, but to her son Luigi, Mama is much more than that.
“She was an exceptional woman,” said Luigi Rienzo, the oldest son. “She was my tower, my pillar.”
Tosca Adelina Rienzo was born in New York City on January 28, 1926. She moved to Italy, living there over four decades before coming to Bakersfield in 1973. In 1982, the Rienzo family opened Mama Tosca’s Italian Restaurant named in honor of her. She died March 7, at age 98.
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Now, Luigi has a hole in his heart which his mom left, the woman who loved to dance.
“My mother was a hard worker. She stopped working when she was 91-years-old in the kitchen and everybody loved her,” said Luigi. “She had a moment too, don’t get me wrong, but I was blessed having her in my life as a mother, and a father, because I grew up without a father.”
Luigi sold the family restaurant in September 2023, so he could retire and spend time with his mom. The new owner vows to carry on the name and legacy of Mama Tosca.
“I’m very proud of him and I wish him the very best because he reminds me of me,” said Luigi. “We had a dream. It was achieved and we pass on the dream to somebody else.”
Mama Tosca had no culinary degree, but that didn’t stop her from creating a legacy for her and her two boys, Luigi and Antonio. The boys she taught to be good men.
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