Allison Arevalo is 3rd generation Italian-American. She grew up in New York cooking with her grandmother and great grandmother, eating with her whole family.  She worked in restaurants throughout high school and college.

After years in marketing, she decided to pursue the dream of owning her own eatery. The troubled economy of New York City in the late aughts led her and her husband, Alejandro, to Oakland where she opened Homeroom, a Mac + Cheese restaurant, followed by a second location and a cookbook inspired by the menu. But Allison’s overriding philosophy about food and family brought her back to New York in 2018 to open Pasta Louise (her middle name and the forename of her respective grandmothers).