For the Miceli family, owners of Mici Handcrafted Italian with locations throughout Colorado, meals are celebrations of families with recipes passed down for generations. And in this tight-knit family, the daughters keep the restaurant thriving, which is why the chain is celebrating National Daughters Day on September 25 with a special meal just for daughters.

With the purchase of an adult entrée, Mici offers complimentary Bambini meals and a small gelato. The Bambini meal includes options like a kid-sized cheese, pepperoni, or vegetable pizza; penne pasta with family-recipe marinara, alfredo sauce or olive oil with parmesan; and a side of grapes or grape tomatoes with organic milk as a refreshment. In this day and age of powdered cheese mixed with processed macaroni and chicken nuggets consisting of who-knows-what, the folks at Mici feel strongly that the food they serve to kids (as well as their parents) is the same healthful, wholesome food they serve to their own family.

The kids even get their very own ball of pizza dough to play with while they wait.

National Daughters Day initially came about to erase the stigma attached to having a girl instead of a boy in some countries. But in developed countries, Daughters Day is a day to celebrate the joy of raising a daughter. And Mici is no exception. The Miceli family is proud to be raising several daughters, all of whom love sharing in the family business—whether it be by helping in the restaurants or providing “quality control” and making sure the pizza and gelato are up to par.

“I have always been very sentimental about family, culture, and tradition,” says Kim Miceli-Vela, a family member and business partner in Mici. “So, when my brother [Elliot Schiffer] asked if I wanted to help him open a fast-casual restaurant that would showcase our Italian family recipes, I didn’t hesitate. I love what I do because I’ve been able to apply my passions to help build the brand.  Everything from our food, our voice, the design elements, the Italian music that we play and the family culture that we’ve created is what makes us special. We each bring something different to the table, and that is what has made this family business work for so many years. It is exciting to think about the next generation and what role they might play and the legacy that Mici will leave behind for them.”

The family opened Mici before Miceli-Vela gave birth to her two daughters, Sofia and Francesca Vela. Fourteen years later, her daughters are very much a part of the business.

“Not only has it inspired an entrepreneurial spirit in them both,” Miceli-Vela said, “but their sense of pride and passion in the restaurants have helped develop invaluable life skills. They’ve been bussing tables since they could walk, but now they’re interested in things like quality control of our family recipes, potential new restaurant locations, marketing and customer service.”

These cherished daughters will be a large part of Mici’s future, and they invite Colorado families to celebrate their daughters, too.