A culinary crown jewel

by Michael J. DeCicco

The co-owner of downtown New Bedford’s The Greasy Luck and Rose Alley Ale House didn’t buy a third restaurant just to add another eatery onto a list.

Instead, Carmine’s at Candleworks, at 72 North Water Street, represents a personal goal for Howie Mallowes. “I had always wanted an Italian Restaurant, and this was my opportunity,” he explained.

His roots in Italian cuisine are deep. He said his great grandmother opened one of the first Italian restaurants in Boston’s north end, Mother Anna’s Restaurant on Hanover Street, in 1933. He grew up at the Italian restaurant Harry’s LaCasa Mia that his family ran in Raynham. “I grew up in this business,” he said. “My grandfather started it, then my uncle ran it. My mother trained me on the family recipes. I know the business.”

Mallowes has owned Greasy Luck since 2017 and Rose Alley since 2009. “I knew I could run this one too,” he said.

Last year he noticed that Carmine’s was still closed late into the COVID-19 shutdown, and Mallowes approached the owner about selling the business to him so he could revitalize it.

Instead, the owner offered to sell him the entire building. He and his business partner Alfred Peters agreed, and they decided to reopen Carmine’s as soon as the transfer of ownership was complete.

Mallowes said he’s been able to keep mostly the same menu with added family recipe dishes including their marinara sauce

Mallowes said he’s been able to bring back about 90 percent of the restaurant staff and keep mostly the same menu. The latter accomplishment is made possible through the retention of Carmine’s chef, Joe Melo. “That’s been all up to him,” Mallowes said.

What’s different on the menu now, he said, are family recipe dishes with the family’s original marinara sauce, like with the “Chicken Exquisito” sauteed in Marsala wine with butter, thick slices of salami, fresh mozzarella cheese, and linguine pasta.

Under appetizers, there are the baked cherrystones, cooked on the half shell with stuffing, seasoned butter, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese, as well as the sauteed stuffed mushrooms, with seasoned butter, chopped garlic and Ritz cracker crumb stuffing.

Serving safety

Mallowes has also had to make updates to abide my COVID-19 restrictions. He had taken a good look at rearranging the dining room floor and spaced tables at least six feet apart from each other. There are a plethora of hand sanitizer stations for the staff. Staff needed to be trained on COVID-19 safety protocols.

Monday is $5.99 pizza night; he’s kept the facility’s dedicated pizza oven in place.

High-top tables were placed against the bar because no sitting at the bar would be allowed. He has had to accommodate more to-go orders and more reservations.

Despite the current harsh realities in being a restaurant in COVD times, he said, “business has been pretty good. Weekends, we can’t find a table for someone sometimes. We’re doing a good job keeping people safe, both our customers and our staff. We do deep cleaning once a week. Most other restaurants don’t do that that often.”

Carmine’s weekly specials are particularly popular, Mallowes said. Monday is $5.99 pizza night; he’s kept the facility’s dedicated pizza oven in place. Tuesdays offer a dinner-for-two special: two entrees and a bottle of wine or two entrees, an appetizer, and desserts for $49. On sundays there is an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. brunch that mixes breakfast items with an item or two from the Italian dinner menu.

Mallowes said he hopes that live entertainment will be part of Carmine’s post-COVID-restriction future. “I’d like to have pianos in here, maybe violins. Live instrumental music to dine by. Dueling piano night. Expand the outdoor area with a half-cover overhang for more use in more seasons.

And Mallowes knows how to keep his customers happy. “We’ll be serving more varieties of pizza as well as other family recipes in the future too,” he added.

To learn more about Carmine’s, see the menu, order out, and make reservations, visit carminesatcandleworks.com.