A Delicious Family Affair in Summit Hill
By Dana Roberts • The Current Contributing Writer
The next time you have to choose a place to celebrate a special occasion, a place to go to for a good meal out, a place to enjoy live music, or simply a place to feel like you’re eating right in the comfort of home, do yourself (and the group that accompanies you) a favor and head to The Mansion House in Summit Hill.
This lovely restaurant, which recently came under new management in May of 2023, is open Tuesday through Saturday to the public, and offers unbelievably delicious home-cooked Italian cuisine in an atmosphere that caters to everyone. With both a bar area where live music is offered Wednesdays through Fridays from 6pm on (including established local musicians as well as new faces), and an upscale dining room, it is truly a space for anyone, whether you’re celebrating a significant anniversary or milestone, or just want to enjoy a delicious meal that you don’t have to cook for yourself.
The Mansion House is likely a familiar place to locals, as its beautiful, quaint location and cozy, inviting interior has been welcoming guests for food and drink for years. However, the cuisine and ambience underwent a major upgrade this past spring, when Nina Carl and Lucy Hagman, affectionately dubbed “The Sicilian Sisters,” took helm of the ship. These dynamic sisters, who were born in Sicily and first immigrated to the U.S. in the 80’s, fulfilled a lifelong dream by opening a restaurant together, where they could showcase their outstanding home-cooked meals to the public, in a setting that feels just like their dining rooms at home.
The sisters were introduced to the location by Naomi Carl, Nina’s 25-year-old daughter, a dynamo in her own right. After getting a business degree at Northampton Community College, Naomi, a lifelong Poconos resident, settled in Jim Thorpe about a year ago and, with her mother Nina, opened The Bella Victoria, a delightful bed and breakfast in Jim Thorpe.
With three well-appointed guestrooms, a serene outdoor space, and a delicious modern American-style breakfast, Naomi and Nina created a bed and breakfast designed to delight both out-of-town guests and Jim Thorpe residents alike, anyone looking for a cozy retreat and space to enjoy the quaint town and all it has to offer. Naomi is a committed, enthusiastic representative of her family business and the local area itself. She works with both the Poconos tourism agency and the Jim Thorpe Travel agency and is passionate about sharing all that the B and B and Jim Thorpe have to offer. Naomi says that this devotion to the area stemmed from a young age and shared that her first outing as an infant in 1997 was to Jim Thorpe. Opening The Bella Victoria with her mother was a manifestation of her love for the area.
With the B and B running smoothly, Naomi found herself at The Mansion House in winter 2023 and became enchanted by the space. On the snowy night that she ventured there to see a musician friend perform, Naomi fell in love with the building and its history. She hadn’t previously known about The Mansion House, due to its tucked-away location, but after a getting a tour of the space from the bartender and hearing that the restaurant was looking for new management, the gears in Naomi’s head began to turn. She convinced her mom and her aunt Lucy to come check it out, knowing that they had always dreamed of bringing their food to the public. When Nina and Lucy came to look at The Mansion House, fate was sealed: they too fell in love with the space and realized that it was the perfect spot, and decided to bring their good, homecooked Italian food to that part of town.
Things quickly fell into place for the sisters to take the wheel of The Mansion House, which speaks to the fact that this is a story that really seems to involve destiny. Nina and Lucy come from a family of restaurateurs: their three brothers all own restaurants in Northeastern Pennsylvania, close to the Jim Thorpe area, and a commitment to offering delicious Italian food to the public is truly in their blood.
Hailing from a small farm town outside of the nearest city of Palermo in Italy, the sisters grew up learning what true eating was. The family grew their own grapes, had chickens, and made their own bread. Nina and Lucy, along with their brothers, originally moved to the U.S. from Sicily as children for a brief stint, before moving back to Italy for their adolescence. The sisters and their family moved stateside again in their early adulthood, finding themselves in the Brooklyn/Queens area before eventually settling in Northeastern PA.
Although their brothers were able to realize their dreams of having restaurants early on, the sisters’ path to The Mansion House was a longer time coming. They dabbled in other careers, including catering, owning a bakery, and managing their brothers’ restaurants. Both Nina and Lucy worked for a time with a company which provided homecare services to adults with disabilities. The sisters visited their clients at home, sometimes with their own children in tow. For both Nina’s daughter Naomi and Lucy’s 22-year-old daughter Alessandra (“Ally”) early memories involved going to work with their moms, establishing their sense of female empowerment, drive, and dedication at an early age.
While their road to The Mansion House may have been long in the making, it has made the realization of their dream all the sweeter, and the sisters are thoroughly appreciating every minute of it. Although they had no direct knowledge of running a restaurant themselves, they utilized their past experience, took the reins and went for it, relying on a motto of “Girl power!”
Together, the women strive to offer cuisine to the public that is the same as they would cook for themselves. For them, creating a meal is a craft, and they take their time and make sure that every aspect of what they create is perfect. The pasta is fresh, not dried or frozen, and all sauces are made to order in the pan. Ingredients are sourced from different Italian distributors, and the sisters hand-pick everything themselves. Food is made in small batches, and each dish is lovingly created, including the tiramisu, which incorporates freshly brewed espresso, good rum, and actual whipped cream.
Both sisters do the baking themselves, on the premises. Nina and Lucy, with the help of their gorgeous, raven-haired daughters, Naomi and Ally, offer a culinary experience that will not disappoint. Naomi is a part of the management team and dons nearly every hat possible in the restaurant, including waitress and bartender. Ally is a jack-of-all-trades as well, bartending and waitressing with grace and ease. Naomi and Ally are not only essential parts of the operation, but also give critical feedback on the dishes served. Naomi says that her aunt Lucy will ask “a million times” if something she has made is good, reassured only when a plate is scraped clean with delight.
For Naomi, every dish is delicious and feels the same as the amazing meals she grew up eating, but her absolute favorite entrée is the fettuccine alfredo with shrimp, accompanied by a limoncello martini. Naomi herself crafts the rotating cocktail menu, and loves seeing what guests enjoy the most.
For these women, The Mansion House is not just a business venture or a way to make a living, it is their life. Their love of food is apparent, but more so is their commitment to bringing delicious food to the community. They want to foster long-term relationships with the residents of the area, reach every person and every occasion, and want The Mansion House to be the space that everyone wants to come to, for both special celebrations and everyday meals alike. Naomi says that they are “big ‘people’ people,” and they love talking with their guests and want them to feel like they’re right at home, having dinner with their family. The Mansion House also can host private events, featuring a special catering menu. After recently hosting a very special 80th birthday celebration, the women received feedback from guests about how wonderful it was to have the whole restaurant to themselves.
In the short few months that the women have headed The Mansion House, they have received an incredible response: the restaurant already has regulars, and they have patrons who come back multiple times a week, which is exactly what they hoped for. The women want this to be a place where visitors feel like they can celebrate, but also know they can slip into the bar area for a delicious meal without having to get dressed up. If experiencing The Mansion House behind the scenes is as appealing as experiencing it as a patron, then good news: The Mansion House is hiring! Those with kitchen experience or waitresses with bartending experience can join in the magic of this environment.
On the particular evening that I called to speak with Naomi about The Mansion House, that welcoming magic was exactly what was invoked, and there was no air of it feeling forced at all. I chatted with Naomi around 9 pm, when the restaurant was quieting down, and she was sitting down with her mom, aunt and cousin to eat and chat around the table. I could hear Nina, Lucy, and Ally in the background, laughing and cheerfully piping in to answer some of my questions, and I immediately was hungry: not only for delicious Italian cooking, but for the warmth of the space they have created. I know that any guest of The Mansion House will instantly feel that too. Mangia!
For more information, please visit The Mansion House at mansionhousesummithill.com, or The Bella Victoria Bed and Breakfast at https://www.thebellavictoriabandb.com
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