Taste The Love At Rosie
By Annie Farley
KOWN FOR HER FAMOUS AVOCADO TOAST, CHIPS AND GUAC, AND HOMEMADE MUFFINS, WE GOT THE INSIDE SCOOP ON HER SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. TASTE THE LOVE IN THIS INTERVIEW WITH ROSE BONURA, THE FOUNDER AND OWNER OF THE LOCAL RESTAURANT FAVORITE, ROSIE NEW CANAAN.
“Cooking is from your soul, it doesn’t come from your head or a book. It’s cooking from your heart. I have always said food is love, so taste the love in all of our food.”
Rose Bonura is the founder of the restaurant, Rosie, in New Canaan connecticut. She has poured her heart and soul into making Rosies a charming café for local New Canaanites to spend downtime dining and laughing with family and friends. Across the café, she uses the slogan, Taste The Love, relating back to the community of New Canaan and and Italian family history.
“It is my everyday life! I eat, breathe, sleep Rosie pretty much 24/7. I have always had a passion for cooking. This restaurant has become such a community and I feel like I have reached my goal because I have the opportunity to see the same people almost every single day. Rosie has just become such a friendly place.”
Photos by Sammi Smith
When Rose was a teenager, she decided to travel to India to explore the extraordinary cuisine and learn the art of using certain spices from the local people. She spent a year, living on a houseboat in Kashmir at the foot of Mount Everest alongside Kashmiris who are known for their mutton based cuisine. Rose describes this trip as one of the most influential and amazing experiences in her life. She couldn't help but think it was anything but "crazy."
“It’s crazy when you are nineteen thinking, It’s all good. Living on a houseboat. It was absolutely the best. I learned how to combine spices and my love of coconut milk came from there.”
Rose then became a private chef for a family and a chef at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens five years prior to opening her restaurant in 2004. In between her days as a chef and becoming a restaurant owner, a huge struggle arose in 2002, when she unfortunately was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I thought, Okay this is my wake up call. I have always wanted to open my own restaurant so now is my time. I sort of made this deal with God, I am going to survive this and I am going to open my own restaurant. Please let me survive. And he did. It’s thirteen years later and we’ve had Rosie open now for eleven years.”
Walking inside Rosie, the first thing that meets the eye is the aesthetic of the room. The walls are covered in beautiful artwork, plants hang eloquently from the back ceiling, and string lights shine above your head. The walls of the café are adorned with local artwork, which changes every six months or so. Rose's friend, Joanne Keane, curates their feature artists and shows at the restaurant.
“It’s so interesting to constantly change the walls up with beautiful artwork, and our customers love it! Everything is for sale and it gives us a chance for Rosie to change things up, constantly being an interesting place to be.”
I asked Rose what her slogan, Taste The Love, meant and if she could describe what Rosie New Canaan meant to her in three words.
“Can I combine heart and soul as one? I would say history, because it’s everything I have ever learned from my parents and grandparents who are Sicilian and came here. They taught me how to cook. The last thing I would love to say is community. This community of New Canaan has opened their arms to me and allowed me to reach out and feed them every day so I can complete my Taste The Love slogan.”
Rosie New Canaan is a cozy hangout for all. Sunday brunches are always bustling with families. High schoolers gather to this comforting local after school for a tasty bite. As students grow up and go their separate ways to college they claim, "Rosie withdrawal is real". And I can always be found picking up my favorite chai tea latte. This restaurant has been woven into the New Canaan community, impacting each and every person who steps foot into the charming café.
