I Coppi returns to the East Village

I Coppi, the modestly priced Tuscan restaurant, closed after 14 years on East Ninth Street in September 2012.

Proprietor Lorella Innocenti then planned to open a similar-themed restaurant at 189 Avenue A with her sister Maristella, who owns Matilda on East 11th Street near Avenue C.

Unfortunately, the sisters couldn't make it work on Avenue A despite their best efforts.

However, the two remain undeterred, and have reopened I Coppi in the Matilda space at 647 E. 11th St. near Avenue C. The new space will be called I Coppi Di Matilda.

"It's my sister, myself and my husband Esteban," Maristella told us. "We've all been through the recession, Sandy and more, but we are back with [our] mama's food at very good prices."

The sisters were born and raised in Pistoia, Tuscany. They looked for ways to reproduce the recipes that their mother made for them while growing up. Lorella was able to do so at I Coppi. Maristella helped in the kitchen, where she met her future husband, Esteban Molina, a sous chef.

Maristella and Esteban opened Matilda in 2007.

Having achieved their individual successes, the sisters along with Esteban decided to bring together both of their businesses with I Coppi Di Matilda, which features an array of pastas priced at $15 and less.

"It has most of the original menu from I Coppi, but also includes some of the specialty dishes specific to Matilda," Maristella said.

And the plans for a restaurant on Avenue A?

"We couldn't get enough money together and finally had to give up," she said. "But the family is together and stronger than ever. Hopefully, even without any help from the city or the government — I got zero after Sandy, and we lost everything at Matilda's — we will do better now with mama's food."