OCEAN PINES — Combining a loaded menu, including items like crab pizza and extra meaty subs with classic deals such as pizza and a movie, Mama Della’s has been serving the Ocean Pines area for five years and looks to add a second location in the near future.
Owned by Brian Kight and his family, Mama Della’s is located on Cathell Road in Ocean Pines. It’s a traditional pizza parlor with more than a few surprises, said Kight, including a portion of the restaurant being dedicated to movie rentals.
“We rent movies here at our pizza shop. We’ve been doing it for a year and it has really taken off well,” said Kight.
It makes for a perfect date or family night, he continued, and has been successful in filling the gap left when a lot of large video rental stores went out of business. Instead of waiting in line at a Redbox, people are able to browse and then grab and go, picking up their food at the same time.
“We saw a void out there and figured that we could fill it up very easily,” Kight said.
The food at Mama Della’s is its own draw, building from that pizza parlor foundation and adding twists and tweaks. There are specialty pizzas like one made with lump blue crab meat and trademark burgers like the Poppa’s Sausage burger, which takes a sausage patty and heaps on green pepper, onion and parmesan cheese. For meat lovers, there’s also the Barnyard sub, which combines steak, chicken, bacon and American cheese.
“We have excellent pizza and subs. Everything we buy, all of our ingredients, are top of the line,” said Kight. “We put a lot of care into what we make and how we make it … We have fun up here creating new dishes.”
Kight’s entire family is involved in Mama Della’s including Kight’s parents and brothers. The family had “always talked about doing something together,” said Kight, which was the basis for opening the restaurant. In five years, the family has developed a good relationship with the area, especially with families dining in and with local businesses doing large, mid-day lunch orders.
“It’s a family restaurant so my mom and dad and my brothers are up here,” said Kight. “Ocean Pines has been great to us. We have a really good local following.”
Kight said Mama Della’s never wants to leave the area. However, his family is hoping to open a second location in the next two years or so at an undecided location.
“We are looking to expand. Right now we’re trying to find the right spot … we are definitely looking to expand to more locations,” Kight said.