A Family Tradition Since 1931
Albert and Josephine Barone came from Sicily with a sauce recipe and a simple idea: feed people well. Nearly a century later, we're still at it.
Italia Gardens | Our Story
How We Started
In 1931, Depression-era Flint was hungry. Albert and Josephine Barone, Sicilian immigrants, showed up with heaps of spaghetti in a rich, traditional sauce — and just like that, Italia Gardens was born.
The Sauce
We haven't modernized and we haven't strayed. That same sauce has been simmered the same way for over ninety years — alongside warm bread, garlic butter, handmade dressings, and handmade croutons.
Three Generations Deep
The restaurant passed from Albert and Josephine to their Irish son-in-law Don Haley and his wife Enza, then on to a third generation — new locations, same soul.
What Happens at the Table
Our mission has never changed: good food that moves people to sit down, loosen their belts, and talk. More than once, strangers have walked out of here something more.
Still Here, Still the Same
Three locations across the Flint area — Grand Blanc, Davison, and Oxford — each carrying the same soul that Albert and Josephine put into that first kitchen. Come find us.
