President and
Chief Emotional Officer
, Maria’s Italian Kitchen
Alfano is the owner and calls herself the chief emotional officer of Maria’s Italian Kitchen, based in Van Nuys. She led its transformation from a family-owned single location grocery and deli to an eight-location multimillion-dollar restaurant business. Alfano was chair of the statewide California Restaurant Association in 2020 and worked with state and local governments to secure public policy to protect restaurant owners and their employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. She is on the board of YPO, formerly the Young Presidents’ Organization. In 2019 she was given the Beacon Award, an industry honor that recognizes woman leaders. She also won a Star of the Valley award from the Valley Economic Alliance in 2018.