Both Antonio and Maria immigrated to the United States from Cuba in the 1960’s seeking freedom, hope and an opportunity for a better life for their families. Maria grew up in Chicago, where her father was a restaurateur and her mother worked in the manufacturing industry. Maria and her mom moved to Atlanta in the 80’s for new career opportunities. Chef Antonio started his journey between West Palm Beach and New York City, where he found his true passion of baking and cooking Italian food. With his heart set on the American dream, Chef Antonio rapidly rose through the apprentice system and quickly became a master baker and chef. Landing in Atlanta in 1967, Chef Antonio realized he had found the place he wanted to settle down and call home. Chef Antonio opened his first Italian restaurant, Alfredo’s in 1974.  Chef Antonio had several restaurant ventures in Atlanta including Avanti’s, Tony’s Casa Napoli, Antonio’s Bakery and Tony’s Farmer’s Market.

Maria and Antonio quickly bonded over their shared values of family, friendship, honesty, hard work ethic, and community – marrying just a couple months later to begin their new lives together. The couple’s first venture was Avanti’s Pescevino on Northside Drive, an early example of the open-kitchen style of restaurant.

Starting a family, the long city commute was becoming challenging therefore the couple looked to create a new restaurant closer to home, back to basics, focused on high quality food and service. Casa Nuova, literally meaning “new house” in Italian, represents renewed hope, resilience and relentless optimism, and an unwavering faith and commitment to love, family and community.

We are a cook to order kitchen, serving traditional fare including pasta, chicken, seafood, veal and vegetarian and gluten-free options plus daily specials. We are a farm to table establishment meaning that in the summertime, we cultivate our own vegetables in our garden, steps away from the restaurant, including tomatoes, corn, peppers, zucchini, sunflowers and more!

With Chef Antonio’s sudden passing in October 2021, son Jose “Pepe” Fundora became the executive chef, after training several years and working closely with his father in the kitchen and the restaurant. Chef Antonio was posthumously inducted into the Georgia Restaurant Hall of Fame in 2022. Casa Nuova continues today, honoring Chef Antonio’s legacy, led by Maria and children, Jose “Pepe”, Cari, and Alex.

Celebrating more than 25 years, Casa Nuova has become a true staple in the Alpharetta area, serving more than three generations of families, including friends old and new, visiting near and far from all over the metro Atlanta area and beyond.