Angela de Rosa
When you’re ready to leave the bar at Bethesda’s Pizzeria da Marco, you’ll get more than a check from bartender Angela de Rosa—you’ll frequently get a hug. “She’s always friendly and she almost makes it a familial experience,” says John Ake, a regular customer from Bethesda. “She remembers what you like and don’t like.”
Though born in the United States, de Rosa, 35, moved to Italy when she was 6. She came to Bethesda in 2010 and has been working at Pizzeria da Marco for two and a half years.
Although she usually works the bar alone, she seems to make time to talk with all the patrons. “Since when I was little, I’ve always been positive and friendly,” she says in a heavy Italian accent. “I like to talk with people. I’m not an office person.”
Patron Miguel Salazar of Bethesda likes seeing “an Italian bartender in an Italian restaurant. She’s just super nice to everyone.”
De Rosa, who co-owned four bars in Puglia, Italy, before moving here, says there’s one big difference between Italian and American patrons. “Italians stay all night,” she says. “Americans are in more of a hurry.”
Pizzeria da Marco, 8008 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda, 301-654-6083, www.pizzeriadamarco.net
