Kelli D'Alessandro holds organic beets, a vegetable grown on the farm she shared with her husband Joe. The couple was set to fill their dream of opening a restaurant when Kelli unexpectedly died just days before the grand opening. 

Joe and Kelli D’Alessandro had been dreaming for years about opening their own restaurant. Just days before Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen was set to open, Joe’s beloved wife Kelli died unexpectedly.

Despite the tragedy, Joe made it his mission to carry on and fulfill the plans he and his wife had always dreamed of. Joe keeps Kelli’s memory alive daily as he operates the fine dining restaurant and high-quality local food producing farm in Edom.

Joe and Kelli married on Dec. 29, 2005. The couple moved to East Texas in 2022 and opened a small, no-till market garden, Terra Sana Farm, and had big dreams to one day open their own restaurant.

The duo believed food was medicine and started farming because they wanted to help heal people by producing real, organic food.

“We farm just like our ancestors did, no sprays or chemicals,” said Joe D’Alessandro, who is of Italian descent. “We use crop rotation and lots of organic matter. We source our compost locally through Texas Organics.”

Joe said “we believe in our soil,” hence why the farm was named Terra Sana, “meaning healthy earth or soil in Italian.”

After years of hard work, Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen began to take shape. Kelli designed the logo while Joe created the menu inspired by his mother, who died in 2016 and had lived in the Puglia region of Italy.

Just days before the restaurant’s grand opening date, Kelli died on Sept. 19 of pulmonary thromboembolism. Although the opening was postponed, Joe was determined to make it happen to honor he and his wife’s dreams. In November, the dream came true when the restaurant officially opened.

Joe said moving forward with opening the restaurant soon after his wife’s death is what she would have wanted.

“It means everything for both my mom and Kelli; my two favorite girls. We’ve both come this far and there’s no stopping now,” he said. “Everything was in place because cooking and Kelli’s charm was all that was left.”

A love story of fate

D’Alessandro recalls the couple’s first date — something he said was pure fate.

“I remember I got her number the weekend before 9/11 while living in Chicago and didn’t think it was appropriate since we were all glued to the TV. We later met again, and it was fate to meet for the second time in such a big city at two different places. It was rare for me to make a trip and work in the city since I lived in the suburbs,” he said. “When I met Kelli, I knew she was the one I could spend the rest of my life with.”

D’Alessandro said his wife helped him become closer to God, which was one of his favorite things about their relationship.

“That’s what Kelli taught me that I love the most. She helped me become a better person through Jesus,” he said. “She was very loving, charming, and optimistic in life and worked hard to make her dreams come true. She instilled so much confidence; I could do anything with her. We both chose not to have fear but have faith.”

The couple loved to cook together and would always plan meals and eat at home for the majority of their relationship and marriage.

D’Alessandro, the first generation in his family from Italy, joked that when his mom found out Kelli couldn’t cook, she told him to find an Italian woman.

“My mom was the best cook while only using just a few simple ingredients; almost all of the recipes on the menu (at Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen) are my mom’s. I was born in Chicago but moved back to Italy for a short time until I was 11,” he said. “We still kept our traditions. During the holidays, my mom and aunts cooked for everyone and those traditions carried on with me and all of my cousins.”

“When my mom found out that Kelli didn’t cook, she said, ‘Leave her, find an Italian woman.’ When Kelli’s mom found out that I still lived at home — another Italian tradition — she said ‘leave him,’” D’Alessandro said. “Kelli eventually won my mom over. Kelli became a terrific cook and my mom loved her so much.”

The duo was a regular vendor at the Rose City Farmers Market, selling organic vegetables, but still maintained their respective jobs.

Opening the restaurant meant both Joe, a professional DJ and emcee, and Kelli, a graphic designer, would have to sacrifice their careers — a decision Joe said they both were ready for, even after a difficult year.

“Making this transition into the restaurant we were sacrificing both our careers, Kelli turned down a graphic design job and I stopped booking events,” D’Alessandro said. “2022 was the most challenging year we’ve ever experienced in our years of farming, due to the heat. All of our customers at the farmers market reassured us that this year was not normal and it was only going to get easier from here on out. Kelli smiled every time she heard that.”

Kelli’s vibrancy shines at Terra Sana

D’Alessandro said to know Kelli was to love her, and her memory will live on through the restaurant.

“Everyone that’s ever been in Kelli’s presence can say that she was vibrant,” he said. “She was the most beautiful person inside and out, her laugh and smile made everyone laugh and smile. An angel on earth; everyone loved Kelli and Kelli loved everyone.”

That vibrancy shines through in the restaurant’s ambiance and beautiful food. Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen is a farm-to-table restaurant using vegetables from the couple’s farm and other locally sourced ingredients such as beef, pork, and chicken sourced from other farms. Some menu items include goat cheese dip, artisan meatballs, panzerotti, sausage and peppers, salads, mushroom risotto, gnocchi gorgonzola, chicken lemone, filet migon, Italian wedding soup, and desserts such as tiramisu and classic bananas foster.

As for the success of the business, D’Alessandro said it was a success before it even opened. His “two favorite girls,” although no longer on this Earth, live on every day in the restaurant.

“I see Kelli in the logo that she designed and created,” he said. “Between the menu that I created, inspired by my mom, and the logo that Kelli created, the restaurant was already successful.”

Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen is located at 8334 FM 279 in Edom, inside The Experience. For more information, visit the Terra Sana Farm + Kitchen Facebook page.