Rosanna Scotto announced that her mother, Marion Scotto, has died at 90.
The FOX 5 anchor, 66, shared the news in a moving social media tribute on Monday, calling the matriarch “Mama Scotto” and the “heart of Fresco by Scotto,” the star-studded Midtown Manhattan restaurant Marion opened more than three decades ago.
Rosanna wrote that for over 30 years her mother welcomed diners as though they were guests in her own home, treating everyone equally whether they were presidents, celebrities or everyday New Yorkers. She said Marion took a tremendous “leap of faith” to open the eatery in 1993, even mortgaging the Brooklyn home where she and her late husband, Anthony, raised their family.
“She believed in her family. She believed in hard work,” Rosanna wrote in the tribute.
The gamble became a lasting family legacy. A mother of four, grandmother of eight and great-grandmother, Marion considered her family her greatest accomplishment, according to her daughter.
She also became a familiar face on FOX 5, joining Rosanna for holiday broadcasts and sharing recipes and family traditions with viewers.
Anthony Scotto died in 2021 after more than 60 years of marriage.
Her legacy, Rosanna wrote, is one of “generosity, resilience, hospitality, and love.”
Fresco by Scotto remains family-owned and famous for its classic Italian dishes, having welcomed everyone from world leaders and celebrities to generations of New Yorkers. Over the years, the restaurant’s A-list roster has included Jay-Z, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Selena Gomez, Sylvester Stallone, Nick Jonas and Whitney Houston, along with athletes and countless Broadway and Hollywood stars.
“We have been so fortunate to have a lot of VIPs who come to Fresco by Scotto. And if I had to put my finger on why they feel comfortable here, it’s because we make them feel comfortable here,” Scotto said in 2024.
Fresco by Scotto became known not just for its celebrity clientele but for Marion herself, who embodied the warm, egalitarian spirit that made the establishment a destination. The mortgage on the family home that launched the business became the foundation of a multi-generational institution where power brokers and regulars alike were made to feel at home.