Twenty-six years ago, Chris Davidson boarded a plane and left the East Coast, bound for the South Bay of Los Angeles. He was young, green and had absolutely no idea what lay ahead. But he took the leap. Now he looks with gratitude at the life he's built: He’s happily married, a father to four exuberant daughters, and last week he was readying for the opening of a third Mama D’s Italian Kitchen in Redondo Beach.

Davidson's Manhattan Beach location on Manhattan Avenue has been dubbed "the friendliest restaurant in the world" by local radio host Merrill Schindler. And, at one time, his Newport Beach locale made a top ten list of Yelp Italian eateries.