Set back from High Street along Pearl Alley lies a little bar that offers spirits, friends and good food. Mama’s Pasta and Brew is an old tradition at Ohio State.
Mama’s history dates back to the 1950s when it was called The Pantry and it was just a restaurant. The original sign can still be found at Mama’s. In the 1960s Mama’s was an Italian restaurant called Roma’s. In 1975, it became a bar called Froggy’s. While Froggy’s was in business all the wood decorations that still adorn Mama’s were made.
In 1977, the quaint little bar that had several names became Mama’s Pasta and Brew. Columbus native Terry Fahey took ownership of Mama’s in 1983 and today his business is still going strong.
Fahey, who attended OSU and majored in natural resources, didn’t expect to own the bar he once visited while attending OSU. The opportunity to own Mama’s fell into Fahey’s lap. “It was sort of a fluke,” Fahey said. “I always wanted to own my own business. I liked the atmosphere of Mama’s, and I thought I would give it a whirl.”
The laid back atmosphere offers its customers a kind of “Cheers” place to hang out where all kinds of people can come together for a good time. Fahey said Mama’s has a lot of different groups of regulars and students.
“A lot of regulars, since I’ve been here for so long, used to go to school here and graduated and they still live in Columbus, and they still come back in. I call them the irregular regulars,” Fahey said. Fahey describes Mama’s as a big social club where his customers get a chance to meet people they would otherwise never meet.
Fraternities and sororities are also a big part of the Mama’s crowd. Fahey said they have a big presence in Mama’s atmosphere. “Some actually call Mama’s their home,” Fahey said.
Desiree Blankenship, a senior in English, has been bartending at Mama’s for two and a half months. “I like Mama’s because it is a diverse group of people,” Blankenship said. “Mama’s is unique because it offers a laid back atmosphere and college kids get to interact with the regulars who have been coming here for 15 years.”
Mama’s out-of-the-way location is somewhat of a challenge for Fahey, but he manages to keep a strong customer base. “It is a challenge to an extent because you have to want to come here because you don’t get that walk-in traffic,” he said. “But on the flip side because you have to want to come here you get better people and we have very little trouble back here.”
Fahey knows he has loyal customers because people tell their friends to come into Mama’s and then everyone gets to know everyone.
Fahey said he is fortunate because he has a great staff. He hires waitresses who are nice and outgoing. “The cooks end up bartending too because it’s such a small place that everyone helps each other,” Fahey said.
Quite a few of Fahey’s employees have never really retired. Fahey said one of his old waitresses, who now works for Victoria’s Secret, comes back now and then to do a guest shift just for the fun of it.
Tuesday and Wednesday nights Mama’s has a dart league. This summer Fahey is planning a golf outing and a cookout. Mama’s also has theme parties that are open to everyone. A couple of weeks ago Fahey held a formal event.
Blankenship attended the formal and said it was a great time. “The formal was a blast. It was really just an excuse for all the regulars and employees to get together, dress up and party,” Blankenship said.
Last weekend, Fahey took about 100 of his regulars and employees to West Virginia on his 19th annual white water rafting trip. “I try to make Mama’s a social atmosphere besides just a place to hang out, which is what a lot of people like because it gives them something to do besides studying or hanging out,” Fahey said.
Customers not only visit for the brew, but they come for the great home-cooked Italian food. “Spaghetti and lasagna are our biggest favorites,” Fahey said. “We have homemade spaghetti sauce.” The Italian subs are the most popular subs. Fahey said people like his food because it is all made fresh to order, it is not processed and the prices are reasonable. The best deal is the Friday lasagna special for $4.90, which comes with salad and bread.
One well-known tradition deals with the moose hanging on the wall. Fahey said people come in there on their 21st birthday and graduation and kiss the moose. “I don’t know how it got started, but when I first bought it we used to joke about people doing it and then all of the sudden it became a tradition in the last few years,” Fahey said. “You got to go to Mama’s and kiss the moose.”
Among all the interesting pictures on the wall, Fahey’s favorite is a picture taken in Antarctica of some guys that used to come in. In the picture they are holding a sign that says “Mama’s and Pasta and Brew: 15,000 miles.”
“The atmosphere of Mama’s is what makes Mama’s,” Fahey said. Fahey has been the owner for 19 years and he’s seen 20 bars leave and many others change. Mama’s Pasta and Brew has managed to keep their loyal customers and remain the unique bar it was 24 years ago.
