When Patricia Galli offered to help her stay-at-home mom start her own business, her mom said “no, grazie.” “I didn’t send my daughter to college to work hard physically,” said Elsa Amidei, who is glad she changed her mind about letting Patricia join Pastificio, the Highwood take-out eatery that specializes in Northern Italian cuisine.

“My daughter loves what she’s doing, and she did a wonderful job, a better job than I did,” said Elsa, who retired about 15 years ago. Patricia gave her dad credit for being so open minded when the store opened in 1977.