How Lena’s Was Reborn

The first time Christine Casinghino walked into Lena’s Cafe and Confections in Westville, the restaurant was up for sale, and she had a feeling that it was calling out to her as a prospective buyer. So she bought a sandwich, headed back to her office downtown, and then decided to make the plunge into restaurant ownership. 

“I walked into that place and fell in love. This was it. I just knew,” she said on the latest episode of WNHH radio’s ​“LoveBabz LoveTalk.” She dished about the triumphs, perils, and frustrations of being a female restaurant owner. 

Owning and running a restaurant, she said during the hour, is much more complicated than she ever thought it would be. There was a near-bankruptcy. A chef stole for years. A new chef had nearly lost his eyesight through chemotherapy and suggested menu changes from the get-go. A change in the cafe’s bread company resulted in one customer throwing panini, box and all, at her. Now she plans to phase the ​“Confections” out of the restaurant’s name, because few people are buying desserts anymore. 

“People are really passionate about their food. You cannot make changes easily,” she said. ​“I don’t have the same regulars I had when I first bought. But now I have new regulars.”

To listen to the full episode, which includes a surprise announcement about possible new restaurants, click on the audio above. You can also download the episode for free through Soundcloud, iTunes, or any podcatcher — just search for ​“WNHH Community Radio.”