Photography by Lauren Allen
Most Sunday nights, owners Wende Stevenson and Aaron Gross can be found sitting down to dinner at MoMo Italian Kitchen off Forest Lane. It’s been their date night spot since 2000, when Gross and Stevenson met at Cosmo’s Lounge during Texas-OU weekend.
“It became one of our favorite restaurants over the years, so that was like the early 2000s, all the way until we took it over,” Gross says.
Stevenson’s connection to the restaurant goes even further — all the way back to her first stint waiting tables at the original MoMo location in 1988.
Both Stevenson and Gross are industry veterans in Dallas. Stevenson’s resume includes stops at The Green Room and Shinsei, while Gross managed concepts like Savory in Lakewood and Taste. Both left Shinsei to open and manage front-of-house operations at Một Hai Ba in 2013.
In 2017, as the Gattini family looked to sell the business to open Botolino Gelato Artigianale, the couple bought MoMo, turning cherished memories into the culmination of a dream.
“It was probably more my dream and goal to have my own restaurant. And then Aaron just kind of walked that path with me,” Stevenson says with a laugh.
As regulars themselves, Gross and Stevenson have been sensitive to making wholesale changes. Staff were mostly kept on, the menu revolves around longtime favorites and MoMo still serves house-made focaccia to each guest.
There have been some changes, cosmetic and otherwise. One nod to the couple can be found on the way to the bathroom, where paintings depict Cinque Terre in Italy, where they married in 2007. A full-service bar with cocktails came with an expansion after COVID, and MoMo now hosts prix fixe wine dinners and special events.
“(My favorite part has been) collaborating on the wine list, sometimes the menu, and doing some fun events,” Gross says.
One special event MoMo will soon host is a Galentine’s Day special in February complete with menu and drink specials.
Stevenson and Gross will spend Valentine’s Day, which falls on a Saturday this year, at the restaurant surrounded by guests. It’s still their date night spot, in no small part due to their efforts.
“I’m so glad the pieces fell into place. It was like one of those moments that it felt really comfortable. And I’m so I feel like we saved it, it would have closed. So we just loved it so much,” Stevenson says.
Advice for other business-minded couples?
Gross: Leave the restaurant at the restaurant.
