A new restaurant owner in Abingdon is blending the flavors of Italy and the charm of New York City to create an authentic Italian eatery. Baset Aybb and his wife, both natives of Africa, opened Mamma Mia’s Italiano Restaurante in September after giving new life to a vacant building on Wall Street in downtown.

The Italian restaurant is housed in the same building where the popular Starving Artist Café operated in the 1990s and where, more recently, Babycakes Cupcakery ran a business. The new restaurant owner said his goal is to fill a void in downtown Abingdon. “I wanted to create something for the middle of the town. The head of the town at Exit 19 is alive, the feet at Exit 14 also are alive, but the stomach, which is the middle of town, is still hungry and empty,” said Aybb.