Comfort Classics from Italy
Credit: Ciao Pasta
With their roots in the Old World and a passion for food, Ciao Pasta brings Italian authenticity to Hagerstown
By April Bartel / Photography by Mark Youngblood
Owners Gennaro Minale and Natalia Leorda.
“When Italians speak, we speak with passion,” says Gennaro Minale. Some of his favorite topics are food and family. Ciao Pasta, the fast-casual Italian eatery that he owns with his wife, Natalia Leorda, is the intersection of both. Their exuberance is distilled into an evolving menu that is deliberately restrained, focused on simplicity and tradition; a belief that nourishment comes from quality, not excess.
Opened September 25, 2025, Ciao Pasta, on Spark Drive near the exit for Sharpsburg Pike off Interstate 70, is built on a lifetime of fine-dining experience and the couple’s shared journey as immigrants from Italy. Minale grew up in Naples; Leorda was raised in Rome. They met after emigrating to New York, attended culinary school, and worked together in fine-dining kitchens, with Leorda also cooking professionally in Rome.
While Minale gravitated toward front-of-house management, at one point overseeing a restaurant with “300 labels of wine,” both learned the discipline, precision, and respect that fine dining demands.
“My aspiration was always to open a place of my own, to work for myself,” Minale says. That dream took time. After moving to West Virginia just before the pandemic, the couple navigated new parenthood, job uncertainty, and a steep entrepreneurial learning curve. Along the way, Minale worked at several family-owned restaurants, including three years at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, where he says the experience helped him build lasting community connections.
Those years, and their growing brood, shaped the vision for Ciao Pasta. “It is a family business,” Minale says simply. “We have three kids and they are here with us all the time.” On any given day, it’s not unusual to see the children playing quietly as pasta dough is mixed, extruded, and cut in full view of customers.
Fresh ingredients and pasta made in house several times a day keep dishes at Ciao Pasta delicious.
Gennaro Minale cooks up Italian specialties at Ciao Pasta.
The heart of the menu is fresh pasta, made several times a day using unbleached semolina flours imported from Italy. “Ninety percent of our products, they come shipped from Italy,” Minale says.
Pasta shapes—spaghetti, fettuccine, casarecce, fusilloni, and creste di gallo—are chosen for flair and ability to pair with specific sauces. There’s also a gluten-free fusilli option made in house. Customers who are unsure which to pick can always opt for “chef’s choice.”
“The menu tells a story,” Minale says. “Every recipe is full of history,” even the simplest dish: fresh pasta with tomato sauce, al sugo, the Italian for “with sauce.” For $8.95, guests receive a generous 180-gram portion (about five to six ounces), made to order.
“Italian food is poor food but with quality ingredients,” Minale says. “You don’t need a bunch of ingredients. You just need three basic, quality items.”
Ciao Pasta starts with classic recipes and family favorites that guests can enjoy as is. Each portion is made to order, so ingredients are ultimately customizable. Craving grilled chicken alongside luscious Alfredo? Hold the anchovies? Kick up the heat with spicy olive oil? You got it.
“This is the real thing. I have never tried pasta like this outside of Italy.” —Annie Schulz
Natalia Leorda puts the finishing touches on a pasta dinner.
Signage details each dish, but Minale is happy to explain unique ingredients and terms. Puttanesca, for example, (one of Minale’s favorites) is boldly seasoned tomato sauce with olives and capers that originated in Naples. Calabrian Nduja is a spicy, spreadable pork salume that is melted into a piquant red sauce. And ciliegino refers to sweet Sicilian cherry tomatoes. One of the most popular selections is Ciao Pasta’s velvety pink “rosa” sauce, combining tomato and cream. Pair it with languidly curving casarecce (meaning, “homemade”) pasta, a short, gently twisted shape that holds sauce well.
“We want to do something different,” says Minale, invoking how variety is the spice of life.
Customers have noticed. Annie Schulz, who lived in Italy, says her expectations were modest when she first walked in.
“When I got here and learned they are Italian, I realized this is a serious place,” she says. “This is the real thing. I have never tried pasta like this outside of Italy.”
Schulz now greets Leorda and Minale in their native tongue and is one of many who have become friends. She recommends indulging in the filled croissants. Typically eaten for breakfast in Italy, these flaky pastries can be stuffed with fluffy cream, pistachio, or Nutella.
“It is a piece of Italy,” she says. “The secret is that they put a little bit of lemon zest in the dough.”
Ciao Pasta’s format reflects modern realities to complement its traditional food. Ordering is done through self-service kiosks, which allow guests to customize dishes and see prices instantly.
“It is for transparency,” Minale says. “There are no surprises or miscommunication.” Online ordering is also available, and the restaurant does not charge credit card fees. A rewards program offers one point per dollar spent, with a free dish earned at 100 points.
For Minale and Leorda, accessibility matters. “Not many people can afford fine dining these days,” he says. “This is a family business that is also family friendly. Anybody can come here.” Combo options, catering services, a casual atmosphere, and scratch-made items, like tender meatballs, reinforce that goal.
The couple is keen to grow the business once their rhythm is perfected, including hosting an official grand opening later this spring. In the meantime, folks can get a taste of authentic Italian cuisine and some of the freshest pasta around.
“We take pride in our work, and we are grateful for our customers,” says Minale, joking that “Ciao Pasta saves people the cost of plane fare to Italy.”
Cannoli’s from Ciao Pasta. Credit: Ciao Pasta