Matt Reinecke

Most everyone who travels abroad claims that they never want to leave, but few actually stay. California native, Matt Reinecke, is one of the few. Abroad in London in 1984, he was reading Romeo and Juliet listening to the Grateful Dead when he met 18-year-old Cristina from Florence, Italy. They were only able to spend two days together
before Matt had to return home. They continued to write to each other for the next two years. He then moved to Florence and married her. Today they have two children – 13-year-old Davide and 6-year-old Francesca.

Living in Italy for so long Matt began to miss American treats – especially bagels. He had his friends FedEx him bagels from New York for several years before he decided to learn how to make them himself. After he received a golden parachute from his job as an investment banker,

Matt came up with the idea to sell the American foods that he missed so much. In 2008, Matt and Cristina opened Mama’s Bakery (http://www.mamasbakery.it/) on Via della Chiesa selling American style sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies, and – of course – bagels. Today the business is thriving – apparently Italian women, who make up 80% of sales, love sweets as much as American women.

Matt has greater ambitions for his shop. “I don’t want to be making bagels for the rest of my life. I’m a business man.” Matt enjoys working with his wife, but he does not like the 14-hour days or the smaller paycheck. He plans to open additional Mama’s stores in Florence and expand the menu to appeal to Italians.