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GABRIELLA’S
Page 8 At Home in Edmond Summer 2022
Gabriella’s
By Rose Drebes
A family tradition since 1953, Gabriella’s is now open in Edmond at 3601 S. Broadway, Suite 600.
Owner and chef Vicki Johnston-Muhs said the reception has been wonderful since the restaurant reopened on Friday, May 13, after moving from Northeast 63rd near the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.
Gabriella’s had outgrown its previous location and it was “time for a move,” Vicki said.
“I love Edmond and its people.”
Vicki said her “famiglia” is originally from the Castiglione region of Italy and first migrated to Oklahoma in 1895 because of the booming coal business.
“My great grandfather, Jim Giacomo provided well for his family until his untimely death, leaving his wife, my granny Rose, as sole provider for their seven children,” Chef Vicki said. “Granny cooked pasta, fried chicken and even brewed a homemade beer called ‘Choc’ which she sold to people who came to eat in her home.”
Granny did well for her family, despite the hard times of the Depression. The seven youngsters were always clothed and fed, Vicki said.
“Little did she know that what she did out of necessity would one day become the foundation of a successful business that would become a family tradition,” Vicki said.
On Mother’s Day 1953, Granny’s youngest son, Dominic and his sister Minnie opened the Isle of Capri Italian Restaurant in Crebs.
“The restaurant’s name was inspired by Dom’s time in the Navy where he was stationed in Italy off the island of the same name,” Vicki said.
Vicki and her best friend Alyce opened the first Gabriella’s Italian
Grill and Pizzeria in South Padre Island, Texas, in 2003. “It was a bit of a struggle at first, since we had leapt into an entirely new demographic 800 miles from anyone who knew what we were about,” she said. “But our dedication and passion to food made us one of the premiere destination restaurants in south Texas.” Gabriella’s was the first “The best part is being restaurant in the Rio Grande Valley to serve traditional wood-fire pizza. Vicki said able to do what I love,” they developed a reputation as one of the premiere -Vicki Johnston-Muhs restaurants south of San Antonio. In 2009, Alyx succumbed to pancreatic cancer. “We felt it was time for a change and time to bring what we’d learned back home to Oklahoma,” Vicki said. But what hasn’t changed is the family’s traditional recipes. Vicki’s grandma’s sauce is made daily by great grandson. “We make everything in house,” she said. “Our dishes are continues on Page 9
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my own creations and some recipes are those I grew up with.”
Several of her family members help out in the restaurant, including husband Duane, sons Michael, Brandon, and Tony and daughter-inlaw Ashton.
“The best part is being able to do what I love,” Vicki said. “I love to cook and I never tire of it.
Gabriella’s is open Tuesday through Saturday, 4-10 p.m. The menu of Italian favorites, wood-fired pizza and desserts is available at gabriellasokc.com.
PHOTO BY ROSE DREBES Owner and Chef Vicki Johnston-Muhrs in front of the wood-fire grills at Gabriella’s in Edmond. Vicki and her family pride themselves in serving traditional Italian cuisine.
