Pasta-tively delicious: Italian markets in Metro Detroit

Primi Piatti attracts a diverse clientele including native Italians, many of whom who work for Fiat and MOPAR, people from the neighborhood, local business people who want to grab some lunch and others who drive in from as far away as the Upper Peninsula to get a hold of the shop's unique food products.

Asked why she thinks her shop draws such a passionate customer base, Zamler chalks it up to a combination of enthusiasm, quality merchandise, and great customer service.

"I take the time, and we always give free tastes," the shop owner says. "We don't expect anybody to buy anything without knowing what they're buying.

"And I'm friendly," she adds. "I try to make it a fun experience."

Alcamo's Market, Dearborn

Alcamo's Market is well-known in Dearborn as the place to get tasty submarine sandwiches and fresh homemade Italian sausages. And according to Emily Chimento, daughter of owner John Chimento, it's also a family tradition with deep roots in the region's Italian community.



Established more than 55 years ago, the market is named after a small town on the island of Sicily. Chimento's grandfather, Antonio, immigrated from Italy, where he was a gardener, and later came to Michigan where he worked as an auto worker. Eventually, the family opened a market in Detroit that catered to Italian immigrants, one of the first ethnic specialty markets of its kind in the state. Following a shift in the region's Italian population, the family opened the Dearborn location in 1972.

Being around such a long time means people start to know you for things. For Alcamo's, Italian sausage are one item that has earned the market a reputation.

"We've been making old Sicilian and traditional-style Italian sausages since my dad's been in business," says Chimento, "and we have several different flavors...plain, garlic, fennel, green pepper, and onion."

Alcamo's is also the originator of a popular style of Italian sub that's priced at a very reasonable $5. Other homemade specialties include Arancini Sicilian rice balls (risotto rice stuffed with pasta sauce), Chicken and eggplant parmesan, and pasta and lasagna prepared in the store.

The meat counter is well-stocked with prime cut, high-grade, all-natural meats that are cut fresh daily by Chimento, who is a trained butcher. The store also carries other Italian imports, including cheeses, a whole aisle of pasta and bread and pastries brought in from local Italian bakeries.

Although the Italian community has, for the most part, migrated out of Dearborn, Alcamo's enjoys a good relationship and gets regular business from Italian-American customers who used to live in the area. They also get visitors from a wide range of ages and cultures coming from all over the state and even out of state visitors.

"We're a destination store, and if you're going to go to Dearborn, magazine articles will tell you to stop here, which is pretty cool. I'm honored to be a part of that."

Cantoro Italian Market & Trattoria, Canton

Totaling around 50,000-square-feet, Cantoro Italian Market & Trattoria in Plymouth is certainly large enough to be called a superstore, but the term doesn't really do the place justice; instead the market-and-restaurant complex feels much more like high-end department store dedicated to Italian food.

"The things on the shelf you'll find are more geared towards Italians," Cantoro's General Manager Alex Bazzy tells Metromode. "We have things that are directly imported right from Italy. We have a wine shop, a bakery, a full-service market, deli counter, prepared foods, house-made pasta section, cheese section."

"More or less they've become eight small companies under one roof," he adds.

Walking through the store, it's easy to see why Bazzy feels this way. The facility is enormous and buzzing with staff members stacking shelves, ringing registers and making food products.

So what's the story behind the Cantoro chain, which also includes a smaller store in Livonia? Owned by the Fallone family, they were both started by Mario Fallone, who comes from Italy's Lazio region and immigrated to the United States in 1954. 

 

After years working in the sales and groceries industries, he purchased a Detroit market from another owner in 1968, keeping the name Cantoro. Eventually that was superseded by the Livonia market, which was established in 1972, and now the flagship store in Plymouth which opened two years ago.  

Visitors to the market certainly have no shortage of options.



In the prepared food section, they can pick up a wide selection of in-house meals including pizza, sandwiches, pastas, lasagna salads. At the deli counter, customers can choose from many brands of meats including Boar's Heads. The bakery section offers an expansive assortment of Italian breads and pastries and is popular with folks looking for wedding cakes or desserts for catering events. Imported goods include cheeses, cookies, pastries and more. Representatives from the store attend a yearly Italian foods convention in Italy and use that opportunity to do direct importing from there.

"We have an extremely Italian portfolio focusing on every region of Italy, while also showcasing other regions of the world including France, Spain, the U.S., Australia, Argentina, Chile and even other European wines," says Tom Newsted, Cantoro's Beverage director.

The lower level of the complex features a curing room, where cheese is aged, as well as a rather stately looking cantina room, which doubles as a wine cellar and is used for banquets and private parties. Banquet facilities are also available at on the Mezzanine.



Folks looking to sit down and eat while visiting Cantoro can stop by Trattoria, an upscale full-service restaurant that makes dishes prepared from foods available at the market. And those who want it delivered to their home or a special event can make use of the market's catering services.

Located on Haggerty, near the I-96, I-275, M-14 expressways, Cantoro's Plymouth location is well placed to attract visitors from Detroit and Ann Arbor, as well as Livonia, which has an established Italian-American community. In fact, the market pulls people from as far away as Lansing and Ohio.

Newsted says there isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't meet a new customer who hasn't  been to the store before. He attributes this to hard work and care that the Fallone family and Cantoro's staff put into making the market a wonderful place to shop and eat.

"I just think were absolutely unique in what we're doing," he says. "Every single product we put out, we put great effort in putting it out, focus highly on the quality...and [we have] a lot of goods you can't find in other locations."