The flavor of Naples remains nestled in Burbank after 25 years thanks to its mainstay Market City Caffe, located at 164 E. Palm Ave. The restaurant celebrated its anniversary Saturday, June 17 with city officials, residents and its founders with delicious food, photo opportunities and a re-christening of its beloved cow.

Market City Caffe is known for its famous cow that greets guest, as well as its expansive antipasto bar, traditional Italian dishes and weekend string quartet brunches.

“We’re very proud to mark this milestone and to have been a part of the Burbank community for two-and-a-half decades,” said Chipper Pastron, MCC Hospitality Group co-founder.

Invited guests and media were treated to several courses of original dishes that have been around since Market City Caffe’s opening in 1987. For an east coast lover of Italian cuisine, even the fresh bread sticks (sorry no photo) dipped in the pasta sauce, were all incredibly yummy. If I was forced to pick a favorite, the spinach ravioli first comes to mind as a stand out (see below).

Chipper Pastron and co-founder Sal Casola Sr. have featured these recipes passed down from generation to generation. For the 25th anniversary, the restaurant is offering daily specials available now.

“I’ve heard stories from guests of how they’ve grown up with the restaurant and these appreciation specials are just a small way to say thank you to those who keep returning year after year,” Pastron added.

Market City Caffe guests are invited to share their memories from over the years by uploading a photo to Facebook or Instagram, tagging the restaurant and using the hashtag #MCC25Year. Each week in June, one post will be chosen at random to win a $50 gift card.

The restaurant released some stats since opening in 1992. Just before they opened doors, the intersection of San Fernando Road was closed to cars, and during the first decade in operation, Palm Avenue was a through street. Also, since 1992 Market City Caffe has:

• Hand-rolled more than 6,500,000 individual bread sticks, using more than 1,139,200 pounds of flour.
• Hand-peeled and used more than 500,000 pounds of fresh garlic.
• Hand-made and cooked more than 500,000 orders of ravioli. That’s more than 4 million ravioli’s!
• Sold more than 487,500 glasses of passion fruit iced tea.
• Used more than 45,000 cases of pair tomatoes for their famed pomodoro sauce.
• Employed more than 5,000 people, two of which still work there and one who continued with the company in Las Vegas since opening day.

To learn more about the history of the restaurant and see the menu, visit Market City Caffe’s website.