Italian Cottage continues to provide visitors with equal servings of delicious Italian food and nostalgia.

Good times for a long time

For almost sixty years, Italian Cottage Restaurant has been putting quality food and top-notch customer service at the head of their menu. The interior of the restaurant still has its quaint charm, and if you haven’t visited for a while, stepping back inside is like getting a hug from an old friend. The cozy wooden booths, low lighting, and tantalizing scents of Italian food wafting from the kitchen welcome you back to one of the oldest restaurants in Chico.

Bert and Judy Katz opened The Italian Cottage in 1965. Brian Katz joined his mom, Judy Katz, in the early 90’s to help with the family business. “My folks came to Chico and saw what a beautiful community it was,” Brian said. “They thought it seemed to need a really good ‘red sauce joint’ with checkered tablecloths, candles, and pasta—a place where you could get a nice glass of Chianti and a cold beer!” Brian remembers helping out in the kitchen of the restaurant from around the age of nine, standing on a milk crate to wash dishes. “I grew up there,” Brian said.

Robyn shared, “In the beginning, we started out with a good meat sauce (red sauce), pizza and sandwiches—pastrami and beef dips being among the favorites.” Brian continued, “Our original recipes have become staples over the years. Our pizza dough is handmade fresh every day, as is our ‘Valley Famous Lasagna’, blue cheese dressing, and our meatballs! The list of our house-made favorites goes on and on. Consistency and taste is a big part of what we do to make sure our customers are getting the quality they desire. We taste the food daily to make sure everything is right.”

Even though the dishes are still the same amazing, high-quality food you remember, there have been many menu additions at the Cottage over the years. They began serving their famous breakfast in the 1970’s. When Brian came on in the early 90s, they opened two more restaurants: one in Red Bluff, and a second location on the Skyway in Chico. Brian’s wife, Robyn, joined the family business in 1999 to help with advertising and catering.

When I asked Brian and Robyn what has made the restaurant so successful over so many decades, they pointed to the relationship they have with their employees, customers, and vendors—all of whom they consider to be part of their extended family. “We are fortunate to be surrounded by great employees that have helped us throughout the years,” Brian said. “Many of our employees have been part of the cottage family for decades, and we’ve even had staff marry one another and start their own families. We are a family business run by family and supported by families.” Brian attributes the continued life of the restaurant to the support the Italian Cottage received from its family of employees and customers who kept the doors open and the lights on during the pandemic especially. When many businesses were fearing the future, the Cottage was comforted to see so much support from their staff and community. Eventually, Brian and Robyn decided to focus solely on the Esplanade location.

Now that the worst of the pandemic is, hopefully, behind us all, Brian and Robyn are looking to the future. They hope to put in a full bar with seating and get their front patio up and running soon. Until then, they’re just going to keep focusing on what’s important: serving great food and promoting “Good Times for a Long Time!”

Drop by The Italian Cottage at 2234 Esplanade in Chico and give them a try for yourself! Monday through Friday, they serve breakfast from 8am to 11am, along with lunch and then dinner from 11am to 8pm. On Saturday, they serve breakfast from 8am to noon, and begin their lunch service at that time, remaining open for dinner until 8pm.