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All about food and family at the new Italian Marketplace
By Kalea Hall
NILES
Gallery
It’s all la famiglia at the new Italian Marketplace.
Bobby DeVicchio and Pam Allegretto DeVicchio have brought together their heritage and food expertise and opened a place for people to become a part of the family.
“We want people to feel comfortable here,” Pam said. “They can sit and relax and just feel good.”
The good feelings come from the tastes of the true Allegretto and DeVicchio family recipes, the smells of those recipes cooking and the atmosphere of an Italian market with a welcoming attitude.
This marketplace, at 1201 Youngstown-Warren Road, has been a dream come true for Pam and Bobby. Both have the love of good food ingrained in their DNA.
The DeVicchio name, as many may know, is well-known around the Mahoning Valley. Bobby’s father, Bob, owned Bobby D’s in Youngstown and is co-owner of Bogey’s Bar and Grille in Lowellville.
Bobby’s mom, Nancy Doumont, operated a catering business for years.
“We grew up in a very regimented Italian family,” Bobby said. “My mom cooked pizza and pepperoni rolls. Everyone would flock to our house.”
Now everyone flocks to the marketplace for his mom’s homemade pepperoni rolls and pizza. Business has been brisk at the new market, which opened Sept. 14, leading the owners to believe they’ve hit a home run.
In the kitchen, Doumont cooks up her trademarks, Bobby makes his signature sauce and all-pork meatballs, and Pam works the deli and manages the store.
It’s truly all about the family and the food at The Italian Marketplace.
“We are incorporating both families’ recipes,” Bobby said.
Pam worked more than 20 years in Italian delis. She also knows how important food is to family. For Italians, everything revolves around food. Sunday is the day of the big family meal.
“If you weren’t there at 2 o’clock when [Grandma] was straining that pasta, then you were nervous,” Pam said.
Opening the marketplace may be a dream for both of them, but the process of actually getting to this moment was a roller coaster.
Finding a location took time. Trumbull County called to them because of the need for an Italian speciality store.
The location they found is the former Alberini’s restaurant on U.S. Route 422, long known as “The Strip.”
“This location is a staple in the Trumbull County community,” Bobby said. “This was the place to come to.”
It took a year to get the design to what they wanted it to be.
Bobby and Pam knew they wanted a deli with a hot-foods section. They also knew they wanted a place for people to sit and enjoy some of the food made from recipes that date back to the 1950s and beyond. They wanted to have a gift basket area, speciality foods, including a wide variety of gluten-free pastas, and eventually, cappuccinos, coffees, beer and wine.
“We are not a restaurant,” Bobby said. “We are an Italian speciality store.”
Pasta and meatballs, pizzas and pepperoni rolls will be in every day, but they go quickly.
“We cannot keep the pepperoni rolls here,” Pam said.
Every Friday will be “Fish Friday.”
The deli is filled with Boar’s Head selections. Olive oils, pastas, bread and other Italian must-haves line the shelves in the store.
Then there are the baked goods made by Toni Ruggles, Bobby’s sister.
In the future, there will be cappuccinos and coffees and wine and beer selections. Catering is another side of the business. The marketplace can handle parties from 10 to 500.
All of this wouldn’t be possible without the support of the family. Allie Rosati, Bobby and Pam’s daughter-in-law, is the assistant manager. Her husband, Anthony, works there, too, and their 1-year-old son, Rocco, will one day have a sandwich named after him.
The rest of Pam and Bobby’s children – Mandy and Tommy Mauerer, Megan DeVicchio and Nick DeVicchio – all help out.
Tina Osman and Tracy Marshall, Bobby’s other sisters, help cook; Anthony DeVicchio, Bobby’s brother, helped set up the store; Bob DeVicchio, Bobby’s dad, offers his seasoned help in many ways; and Frank “Cheech” Allegretto, Pam’s dad and a longtime Trumbull County businessman, has provided behind-the-scenes advice and support.
“We also have an array of cousins and nieces and nephews involved,” Bobby said.
Luigi, the mustached Italian chef statue at the store entrance, helps out by wishing customers: “Bon Appetit.”
“Cooking is in our blood,” Bobby said.
The Italian Marketplace is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It is closed Sundays.