\u201cI got a gift,\u201d said Silo owner Patrick Richardson. \u201cBut Luca was heartbroken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Della Casa turned heartbreak into a big break. He partnered with Richardson to open Nonna Osteria<\/a> at the Fairmount Hotel in 2017. Eight years later, Della Casa remains executive chef and helps manage the hotel, which includes Silo Prime<\/a> and the Rooftop Oyster Bar<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to make the hotel Michelin level,\u201d Richardson said, \u201cand bring it back to its storied history.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fairmount made Guinness World Records<\/a> history in 1985, 79 years after it was built. The three-story, 3.2 million pound structure was transported half a mile on wheels <\/a>from East Commerce to its present location on South Alamo, an engineering feat that took six days to accomplish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chef Bruce Auden<\/a> later turned Polo\u2019s at the Fairmount into an upscale, destination restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n Eventually, when Auden left to launch Biga<\/a>, the Fairmount fell into disrepair and the restaurant space lay empty until Richardson launched Nonna Osteria.<\/p>\n Today, natural light pours into the restaurant through wide windows, giving the space the feel of fresh, promising life, a contrasting vibe to the dust and rumble of construction on South Alamo.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe Nonna Osteria is a very exciting project for us,\u201d Della Casa said. \u201cWe are in an amazing place in town. A lot of energy is happening around this location.\u201d<\/p>\n Richardson expects a clean view of South Alamo by the end of October with beautification to follow. When completed, the Fairmount will sit in a park-like setting. Hotel, restaurant and site will eclipse anything Della Casa could have imagined in his youth.<\/p>\n Della Casa grew up in Torino, Italy, playing running back in the Italian Football League and studying English. He found work as a dishwasher and enjoyed the cooking of his maternal grandmother, Norma Mengotti, a one-time restaurateur who prepared family-style dinners every Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGnocchi e coniglio was definitely the specialty,\u201d Della Casa said. \u201cShe also made light potato gnocchi in this rich rabbit sauce and tiramisu.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In his early 20s, Della Casa moved to the Canary Islands and became a line cook at a bustling Spanish grill. He learned to make chicken, steak and pork chops and manage the kitchen.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point, I was no longer looking for what I wanted to do,\u201d he said. \u201cI knew I wanted to become very good as a cook.\u201d<\/p>\n After a few years at the grill, Della Casa followed two friends to the U.S., where he became a sous chef in San Antonio at the since-closed Sage, in the same hotel space that Nonna Osteria occupies.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LucaDellaCasa_NonnaOsteria_01_08.13.25_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Chef Luca Della Casa of Nonna Osteria poses for a photo in the \u201cwine cellar\u201d leading to his restaurant at the Fairmount Hotel on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/LucaDellaCasa_NonnaOsteria_05_08.13.25_AmberEsparza.jpg\")
Chef Luca Della Casa of Nonna Osteria prepares the burrata dish at the Fairmount Hotel on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n