Former Tre Famiglia Chef Opens Own Restaurant, Ruffles Feathers

What happens at Tre Famiglia doesn't necessarily stay at Tre Famiglia.

Just ask Angela Martinelli, an owner of the popular Italian restaurant in the borough.

She threw up a large canvas banner on top of her awning a few weeks ago which said: "This is our ONLY LOCATION. We are not moving or affiliated with any other restaurant in Haddonfield."

The reason?

Her former son-in-law, Mark Berenato, opened a new Italian restaurant, da Soli, a few blocks away on Kings Highway two weeks ago. It means "on our own" in Italian. She said Berenato was billing himself as the former head chef of Tre Famiglia and pilfering customers.

"I was getting a numerous amount of patrons coming in saying 'We're glad you're moving to Kings Highway,'" she said. "I had to go out and explain this is not us. That is the reason I put that sign up. It would cause less questions in my dining room."

Berenato said he was amused by the sign, but didn't know what all the fuss was about.

"I wanted to stay in town for my customers and my friends," he said. "I like Haddonfield. I think it's a great walking town. I just knew I wanted to stay here.

"They didn't want me there. I said 'OK,' left on my own two feet and that was it. I think this town is big enough for all of us."

Martinelli doesn't see it that way.

"He broke my heart," she said. "He was married to my daughter and he was part of the family. I took him back the third time when he was divorced from my daughter. That's how much I loved him like a son. Now I truly can't stand to hear his name."

Berenato said he did work at Tre Famiglia off and on for the last seven years before leaving in April. He has an ad in the front window of his quaint eatery tucked inside The Shoppes at 116, a mini mall on Kings Highway. It's from an article describing him as a top South Jersey chef when he worked at Tre Famiglia.

Martinelli said he's not supposed to use Tre Famiglia's name and that there is ongoing "litigation."

"They're making a lot of allegations now," Berenato said. "I was the name and face behind Tre Famiglia."

Martinelli said she comes from several generations of Italian restaurant owners. Her father owned Chips at 8th and Passyunk, near South Philly's Italian Market, for decades. She insists Berenato was never the face of her restaurant.

"I'm done with him and he can continue to do what he's doing," Martinelli said. "We're doing better than ever and I'm just glad he's out of our life at this point."

The sign came down earlier this week. A borough official told her it did not conform to code and they had gotten complaints about it. Martinelli thinks she knows who complained.

Berenato just laughed when told about the allegation.

"I think it did more to hurt them than me," he said.