Friends and family work together, serving espresso, pastries, pastas and pizzas at the eatery, which soft-opened in November; a grand opening is set for Feb. 20
By Jim Flint for Ashland.news
A new Italian cafe has quietly opened in downtown Ashland, bringing traditional home-style cooking, house-made pastries, and espresso drinks to the heart of the Plaza.
Cafe Lumina, located at 27 N. Main St., began serving guests Nov. 24 in a soft-opening phase, with a grand opening celebration planned for Friday, Feb. 20. The former Mountain Provisions space has been transformed into a bright, counter-service restaurant offering breakfast and lunch Wednesday through Sunday, with dinner on Fridays and Saturdays.
The cafe is co-owned by Neil Antonio Diamente, 50, and his longtime friend, Alex Circiello. Diamente moved to Ashland in October 2023 with his wife, Ashley Ambrosio, who works for Ashland Middle School and runs her own business. The move sparked an unexpected career change after decades in education.
“I spent the previous 25 years as a librarian and teacher, but I felt called to open the cafe shortly after arriving,” Diamente said.
Diamente had been visiting Circiello every year since 2016, when Circiello relocated from Oakland. The two eventually decided to turn their shared love of Italian food and culture into a business.
Head chef Sabrina Circiello brushes cornetti (soft, rich Italian pastries similar to croissants) with egg wash before baking them. Cafe Lumina photo
Lumina employs about 25 people. Circiello’s daughter Sabrina Circiello, who grew up near Naples, Italy, serves as head chef.
Diamente keeps long hours at the cafe, arriving at 6:30 a.m., working through the afternoon, and staying later on weekends when he bartends.
Light in the name
The name Lumina carries personal meaning.
“I chose the name ‘Lumina’ in 1999. It’s a combination of my children’s names, Luca and Carmina,” Diamente said. “It also refers to light or an opening for light.”
He and Circiello envisioned a space that blends Italian food, music, art, and la bella vita in the center of Ashland’s downtown Plaza. That vision is rooted in heritage. Diamente’s father is from Spinete in the Molise region of Italy. Circiello’s father is from Naples. Sabrina Circiello grew up cooking with her mother’s family near Mount Vesuvius.
“The menu is built on le recette della nonna (grandmother’s recipes) passed down through generations,” Diamente said.
Those influences show up in rotating hot-bar offerings of pastas, meats, vegetables and frittatas, along with baked gnocchi, lasagna and Neapolitan pizza.
All-day Italian fare
Lumina opens each day with Organic Groundwork coffee roasted in Oregon. It serves traditional espresso drinks, organic teas, chai lattes, hot cocoa, fresh-squeezed orange juice and mimosas.
Breakfast includes in-house pastries such as cornetti, biscotti, graffe napoletane, olive oil cake and gluten-free caprese cake made with almond flour, chocolate, and coconut. The breakfast hot bar features meat and vegetarian frittatas and baked polenta, a gluten-free savory corn cake. Lunch expands into rotating pastas and seasonal dishes, while Friday and Saturday dinners feature made-to-order Neapolitan pizzas. The cafe operates on a counter-service model, with no reservations required.
The soft opening has allowed the team to fine-tune operations in real time.
“We started with limited hours and have refined our process daily,” Diamente said. “We’ve expanded from just breakfast to a full lunch hot bar. We’re constantly evolving — like our gnocchi, which we now serve baked in individual red pots — and we’re proud to have earned a reputation for the best cappuccino in town.”
Sourcing with purpose
A platter piled high with graffe Napoletane, Italian doughnuts, is a popular choice for many of Cafe Lumina’s morning customers. Cafe Lumina photo
Health-conscious sourcing plays a central role at Lumina, which emphasizes locally sourced and organic ingredients and avoids seed oils.
“It’s a health-conscious practice for our guests and the planet,” Diamente said. “We fry our donuts in beef tallow and coconut oil for a light, airy texture, and we use A2 whole milk and organic oat milk for naturally sweet coffee. Our imported Italian olive oil and tomatoes ensure every dish tastes authentic.”
Building a full morning menu was intentional.
“We wanted to be an all-day destination,” Diamente said. “We started with the best coffee we knew, Groundwork Coffee’s ‘Round Midnight’ blend, which is Regenerative Certified Organic; we offer a range of traditional items to ensure there is something for everyone, from vegan polenta to authentic Italian pastries.”
Asked which items are closest to his heart, he doesn’t hesitate. “I highly recommend a cornetto — plain or filled with house-made chocolate hazelnut or vanilla orange custard — paired with a cappuccino.”
The rotating hot bar allows the kitchen to stay creative while keeping familiar favorites.
“The menu changes daily based on fresh ingredients,” Diamente said. “While we rotate different meats and seasonal vegetables in our frittatas to keep things interesting, staples like our baked gnocchi, lasagna and pizza are always there to satisfy recurring cravings.
Recipes from home
Many of the recipes are tied directly to family memories.
“These are the dishes Sabrina grew up cooking with her mother and grandmother. It tastes like home cooking because it truly is.”
Diamente believes Lumina adds a distinctive element to Ashland’s food scene.
“As one of the larger restaurants on the plaza with expansive front windows, we offer a unique, vibrant atmosphere that blends food with the arts,” he said. “We plan to add Sunday dinner after our grand opening, with the eventual goal of being open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
Offering a toast in the window of Cafe Lumina on the downtown Ashland Plaza are co-owners Alex Circiello, in white cap, and Neil Diamente are flanked by their crew. Cafe Lumina photo
Music and community are also part of the experience.
“As musicians, Alex and I curated a playlist featuring bossa nova, samba and salsa to evoke the feeling of old Italy and beyond,” Diamente said.
Live music, dancing, and art exhibits are planned as the cafe grows. Ultimately, he hopes guests leave feeling immersed in the experience.
“We want our guests to feel transported to another world — one that is warm, inviting and feels like a trip to Italy.”
Looking ahead, Lumina plans seasonal menus, special events and expanded evening hours. Once warmer weather arrives, the cafe can open its front windows. And it hopes to offer al fresco seating on Calle Guanajuato along Ashland Creek, extending Diamente’s original vision of light, connection and shared tables in the heart of downtown.
For more information and news about Cafe Lumina, visit luminacafeashland.com.
Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at [email protected].
Dining and Cooking