A new restaurant that opened over the weekend in northeast Oklahoma City blends local history , personal family stories from Italy and the family’s roots and recipes that began in Oklahoma about a century ago.

The restaurant, Carletti’s , is a labor of love for Gina Foxhoven , who drew on her family’s Italian heritage in Oklahoma, and her partners Chip Fudge and Larry Davis, longtime Oklahoma City developers.

“We are historic preservationists at heart,” Foxhoven said on a tour of the newly renovated space that opened originally in 1937 as a speakeasy and horse stables. “This whole place is built on a love story.”

Foxhoven also noted that the entire concept began with her own family’s Italian love story between the Carlettis and the Ravaiolis and continued with their love for O

See Full Page