Calabresella New York Style Deli to open on Park Avenue and in Fairport Village
Calabresella has been in the Rochester area since 1968
Calabresella New York Style Deli to open on Park Avenue and in Fairport Village Calabresella has been in the Rochester area since 1968 Check out this story on DemocratandChronicle.com: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/lifestyle/rocflavors/2019/04/18/calabresella-new-york-deli-open-park-avenue-fairport-ny-village/3494939002/
Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Published 10:57 a.m. ET April 18, 2019 | Updated 11:00 a.m. ET April 18, 2019
The former home to Great Harvest on Park Avenue has been given a fresh coat of paint. (Photo: TRACY SCHUHMACHER/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE)
Dominic Mammoliti had a lot on his plate, but the opportunity was so tempting that he couldn't pass loading it up with one more thing.
The owner of Calabresella New York Style Deli, a fixture in the Rochester area since the late 1960s, already had a busy shop in Gates, a relatively new location in Avon and a third shop in the Village of Fairport in the works.
But when the two Rochester-area Great Harvest Bread Company locations closed, a perfect spot became available: a shop on a prime stretch of Park Avenue, with its own parking lot no less.
Now Mammoliti is working on two new locations: one in the former Great Harvest location at 210 Park Ave., across from Parkleigh, and the other in a spot under construction on Fairport's Main Street.
Fortunately, Mammoliti has three sons at the ready to spearhead the new locations. William Mammoliti will run the shop on Park Avenue, while Alex Mammoliti will operate the shop in Fairport.
Return to city roots
Photos: Calabresella New York Style Deli through the years
From 2015: Dominic Mammoliti is the owner at Calabresella New York Style Deli, a Town of Gates landmark. Jamie Germano/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Calabresella Deli in Gates Friday, June 9, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
Calabresella opened at 1386 Buffalo Road in the early 1970s. STAFF FILE PHOTO
Alex, Dominic, Will and Dominic Mammoliti Jr. at the Calabresella Deli in Avon in 2018. Mary Chao
From 2009: Dominic Mammoliti of Greece, is the owner of the family-run deli shop, Calabresella Import, in Gates. KATE MELTON
A photo of William Mammoliti, founder of Calabresella Deli in Gates , sits over a mantle in the deli office Friday, June 9, 2017. William's son, Dominic Mammoliti now runs the business with his sons. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Beatrice Mammoliti works in the family business in 2009. KATE MELTON
From 2001, Zweigle's sales manager Jim Vacanti (cq, left) and Dominic Mammoliti (cq, right), the owner of Calabresella's Deli on Buffalo Road, are celebrating the success of the escalating online sales of Zweigle's products. Calabresella's is the only distributor of Zweigle's products, shipping them to all 50 states. Staff file photo
Calabresella founder Guglielmo Mammoliti with his son Dominic provided
Dominic Mammoliti of Calabresella's Delicatessen in Gates now sells on Amazon Mary Chao
Dominic Mammoliti, second from left, surrounded by his sons, Dom Jr., left, Will, right, and Alex at Dominic's Calabresella Deli in Gates on June 9, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE
Deli owner Dominic Mammoliti brings out a food order to a customer at his family-run store, Calabresella Import on Buffalo Road in Gates in 2009. KATE MELTON
Alex Mammoliti, 21, works at the sandwich counter turning out subs at his father's Calabresella Deli in Gates Friday, June 9, 2017. SHAWN DOWD/@sdowdphoto/, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Carlos Dias ladles up homemade soup at Calabresella's New York Style Deli, a Town of Gates landmark for 40 years. Jamie Germano/@jgermano1/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Stephen Nesbitt, packs about 150 containers each day at Calabresella Deli, in Gates, containing Rochester food favorites like Zweigles, Abbott's and a variety of Local hot sauces, to be shipped around the country. (From 2015) Jamie Germano/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
For Mammoliti, the city location represents a return to the shop's roots. Mammoliti's father, William, came to Rochester from Italy in the late 1960s. He originally worked as a tailor at Bonds in the old Bulls Head Plaza on West Main Street. When Bonds closed, he opened a shop called International Imports in the same plaza. It was known for Italian meats, cheeses and olive oils, which couldn't be found in grocery stores at the time.
During that time, Dominic Mammoliti attended grammar school at the nearby Church of Saints Peter and Paul, and when he wasn't at the school he could often be found in the shop. "We stayed at the store because we had no babysitter," he said, with a laugh.
In 1974, William Mammoliti moved his business to Buffalo Road in Gates. He named it Calabrasella in honor of Calabria, the region in southern Italy where he was raised. Dominic took over the business in 1992 after his dad suffered a stroke.
"Almost 50 years later, we're back in the city," Dominic Mammoliti said.
Subs, cannoli and cookies
Calabrasella's is now best known for its huge assortment of overstuffed subs, as well as cannoli, cookies and other treats. It also has a thriving business shipping a large selection of Rochester products, including Zweigle's, across the country and to Canada.
The Park Avenue location, slated to open in May, has been given a fresh coat paint in a subdued green hue to give it a Tuscan look. The sign will be similar to the one that hung at Great Harvest. The inside also will have an Italian flair.
"We gutted the place out and made it our style," Mammoliti said. A major focus on Park Avenue, in addition to the subs, will be coffee and a "huge pastry counter."
The Fairport location will be a 2,000-square-foot expansion of the Quicklee's shop north of the lift bridge in the village. A July opening is planned.
"We're excited to be in Fairport," Mammoliti said. "I know the bridge is closing, but that's OK. People travel for food."
The other Calabresella location is at the Quicklee's truck stop off exit 9 of Interstate 390 in Avon.
TRACYS@Gannett.com
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