Ciao, Paisan!

Man in a white shirt and black apron peeling garlic outdoors

My name is Matteo A. Cina, why am I doing this? The State of Texas has an Italian-American population of 1.7% and it shows. The state is near devoid of Italian culture and so many places claiming to be "Italian" restaurants couldn’t tell the difference between penne and rigatoni.

Tens of millions of my fellow Texans will never taste a better red sauce than store bought Rao’s and that breaks my heart. I started the Cina Family Sauce Company as an Italian cultural exhibition that gives the good people of Texas access to real, homemade, Italian food while honoring the family that led me here.

Meet the Family

Meet the women who inspire me the most! My Nonna Barbara and my Nonna Oliva (Eva) are the heart and soul of our family. Their strength, love, and wisdom have shaped who I am today. From their incredible stories of resilience to their unwavering support, they are my greatest role models.

Framed photo of an elderly woman next to a jar of Cina Family sauce on a table.

  • My Nonna Oliva (Eva) was my mom's mother, and she was very involved in my childhood. She was born in Croce, Italy, survived the war by hiding out in a mountain convent while taking care of her much younger sister, Josephine, and then immigrated here in the '50s on the SS Cristoforo Colombo. She was definitely the cook of the family; she would make these big feasts on Christmas Eve, all seafood except for a singular steak for my father, who couldn't stand the taste of fish. It was she who taught me most of my Italian. I would get some candy if I could recite the Hail Mary in Italian, Latin, and French while growing up. She also had an amazing garden with delicious fruit, but especially the Sicilian blood oranges, which were the most perfect, succulent fruit imaginable. But she was a woman defined by the era she grew up in. War had made her tough as nails, and as someone who survived off the grace and charity of others, she was very deliberate in instilling those virtues into her grandchildren. She was by all accounts a self-made woman, a hard woman, a tough woman, and she is someone I love and miss very dearly.

Jar of Cina Family sauce next to a framed portrait of an elderly woman, with a woven basket in the background.

  • My Nonna Barbara was my dad’s mother, and she was the sweetest person you could ever meet. She was so kind, so loving, and she put up with a lot in her life. You could tell it made her kinder to those around her. We were lucky to have her for as long as we did.

    She wasn’t the cook Eva was, but “ole reliable” was her marinara sauce. Her nickname was “Doll” because she was one of those women who always made sure to do her makeup and hair, and one of the little cousins thought she looked like a porcelain doll.

    When she was raising my father and the family needed money, she worked as a waitress at a local pizza place called “Petrillo’s,” and the people there were always so good to her. They’d let her take the time off she needed, let the kids sit in a booth in the restaurant, and they even named a pizza after her — a Sicilian-style flatbread with light cheese, red peppers, and olives, cooked well.

    I loved my Nonna Barbara very dearly, and it is an honor to carry on her memory in the way I can.

People smiling and chatting at a farmers market under a white canopy. A man holds a small cup of food, and a woman wearing sunglasses holds a coffee cup. Background includes other market stalls and people.
Smiling person standing in front of a vendor stall with a colorful sign and holding a folded cloth.
People at a farmer's market under a white canopy tent. A vendor wearing blue gloves and an apron is speaking to customers, who are casually dressed.
Two women smiling and holding cups of gelato, standing next to a "Cina Family Sauce Company" sign at an outdoor market, with a tent displaying an American flag pattern above.
Jar of Cina Family sauce next to a framed photograph of an elderly woman.
Three people having a conversation under a tent at an outdoor event; two men facing a woman.
Two men at an outdoor market booth, one wearing a 'Cina Family Sauce Co' apron and blue gloves, engaging in conversation under a canopy tent.
Framed photo of an elderly woman next to a jar of Cina Family tomato sauce.
Two people holding jars of pasta sauce next to a Cina Family Sauce Company sign at a market stall.
A man serves food samples to a woman and a young girl at an outdoor market under a canopy. The woman holds a small cup and a sampling skewer, while the girl holds a can and engages with the vendor. The setting appears to be a fair or festival, with f
A man in a booth at a food festival wearing gloves talking to a woman. The booth has a sign with "Mimi's Marinara" and "Two Sicilies Sauce Company". There are Italian flag toothpicks, a sauce jar, and a crockpot on the table.
A smiling woman holding a jar of pasta sauce next to a sign that reads "Homemade Pasta Sauce" with a vintage logo of a woman above it.
A group of people visiting a booth with a green canopy at an outdoor market. A vendor is smiling and engaging with visitors, with a display featuring a jar of food products, a basket, and a framed photo on the table. The banner in the background part
Basket containing a jar of Cina Family marinara sauce, fresh tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, garlic bulb, onion, and herb sprigs.
Man in suspenders waves at a cooking demonstration under a tent, with a pot, bottles, and microphone on the table.