New family-owned pizzeria in Whitefish celebrates local farmers, clean ingredients

While it's common for an inn to have a restaurant, it is unusual for that restaurant to be built atop what was once a swimming pool. 

Eva Volcikova, owner of the Chalet Inn since 2017, remodeled every room of the motel before transforming the building that housed a defunct, 1980s-era swimming pool. She said several locals have told her they learned to swim there. 

After five years of planning and lots of hard work, she opened Mama Ev’s Pizzeria in early December. 

"We’ve been open two months and we have so many regulars,” she said. “It’s awesome.” 

The chef, Jose Lopez, is from Cholula, Mexico, and worked in Italian restaurants in New York City for 20 years. Volcikova met him while traveling and the two became friends with a mutual passion for good food.  

The open space is large but feels cozy and fresh, with two walls of windows letting in lots of light. Overhead fixtures from Indonesia are eye catching and illuminated stars lend a friendly feel.  

A bright red, wood-assisted pizza oven adds a bit of color. The stylish doors and unusual steel baseboards are just a couple of Volcikova’s unique touches. 

She did most of the remodeling herself, though she did get help with the electric and plumbing. She acid washed the steel in her parking lot and sanded and installed the thick, live edge wood slab that serves as a counter.  

Currently, there are six pizzas on the menu and three salads that feature locally grown vegetables from the Wicked Good Farm, White Star Organics, Snow Country Gardens and others, as well as cheese from Lifeline Farm Creamery in Victor, Montana. 

Mama Ev’s also serves a soup of the day and Volcikova said they will eventually offer a handmade pasta of the day and will grow the menu “a little bit.” 

“I make pizza for my kids once a week,” she said. “A sourdough pizza. The best pizza for you. I make everything from scratch. All the ingredients are organic.” 

All the ingredients used in the pizzeria are organic, too.  

“I think the farmers need to be celebrated,” she said. “My hope is that we will celebrate the community here and we will carry as many local things as possible.” 

In the summer, she said she’d like 100% of all the vegetables to come from small growers.  

“Our pepperoni, I get in Oregon, because it's the cleanest pepperoni I've found,” she said. “No nitrates.” 

She offers clean wines that will be pleasantly surprising for wine aficionados who may have not heard of the smaller vineyards. Beers from Weihenstephaner, Bozeman’s Mountains Walking and other breweries, including a Czech beer, are available. 

The restaurant’s capacity is about 55 and in the summer, there will be tables outside, too. 

“It's so nice in the summer,” Volcikova said of the location. “It becomes this very social place. People come from Glacier, they have their glass of wine or their beer, they talk to the neighbors. It’s a very super cool vibe.” 

She is looking forward to sharing that vibe with locals in her new restaurant. Volcikova’s goals with the eatery are to support the local farming community and to bolster the sense of community within Whitefish. 

“I can give them really healthy, good food and people will feel good about supporting local farmers and us, a family business,” she said  

It is a true family business. Her teenage sons, Christopher and Alex, work as waiters and delivery drivers when they are not skiing.  

Volcikova is from Prague and moved to the United States 30 years ago to study philosophy at Georgetown University. While growing up in the Czech Republic, her family, most notably her mother and grandmother, instilled in her a love of good food.  

Some of the desserts she bakes daily for the restaurant are family recipes, including the rich chocolate cake she prepared Valentine’s Day. 

“I cooked every day from scratch for my kids since they were babies, and I love it,” Volcikova said. “Growing up, my grandmother was an amazing cook. My mother, who was a university professor ... she was an amazing cook. We always had homemade food.” 

Mama Ev’s is located at 6430 U.S. 93 South and is open from 4-9 p.m., Wednesday through Monday.

    Mama Ev's Pizzeria, a new restaurant located at 6430 Highway 93 South, is connected to the Chalet Inn. (Juie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)
  

    The interior of Mama Ev's Pizzeria is bright, warm and welcoming. (Julie Engler/Whitefish Pilot)