They grew up around grandpa, who they recall being a fantastic Italian cook. Their grandfather once had his own restaurant in Albania, right next to Italy, where traditions among the two countries were commonly shared.

Cousins Labinot Gashi and Njazi Hoxha, co-owners of Roma’s Italian Kitchen in Tyler, remember learning the family trade of cooking very early on in their life. “I started to make some spaghetti with some marinara sauce, from the scratch, everything fresh made. That’s how we were taught, from our grandfather,” Gashi said.