In the shadow of the original Byward Market building, before it was destroyed by fire in 1926, lived a lively lithograph of Irish and French bakers, soap makers, and fishmongers. One section, though, housed an Italian grocer: J. Saso and Son. Saso père (or Papa) liked to play frontman, inviting his largely immigrant clientele into animated conversation before his offspring Charles helped them stock up on breads, cheeses, wine, and other staples from their mutual homeland.
Saso’s remained a family business and a neighbourhood crossroads into the 1990s. That’s when a pair of cousins from Ottawa’s most successful Italian food family, the Nicastros, took it over. Who better, the Sasos reasoned? The guys, Pat and Rocco Jr., were young but they checked all the boxes: they were Italian, from Ottawa, and knew the business, having been part of the family whose grocery stores and eateries dotted Little Italy and the West End. The guys themselves, though, weren’t as certain. They had a healthy respect for the authenticity, quality, and variety offered by the store, but the neighbourhood was in serious transition. “George Street was going through a lot at the time,” reflects the irrepressibly approachable Pat. “The ByWard Market was undergoing some controversial restructuring. But we took a risk and decided to go for it.”
The takeover took root after Pat mapped out plans for a modern version of the store as the climactic project for his Bachelor of Commerce degree. He called his detailed re-imagining – La Bottega, the name that hangs over the space’s entryway today. Invited by the Sasos to make his dream a reality, together they sold off the place’s OId World fixtures, gutted the floors and walls, and built an epicurean Eden. Eleven years later, upon completion of his university education in Commerce, Rocco Jr. joined the family business.
Together Pat and Rocco Jr. are in charge of La Bottega Nicastro’s edible inventory. Its shelves are full of Italian food of all kinds: pasta in so many shapes and sizes, prosciutto right from Parma, fresh focaccia delivered daily, real deal Parmigiano Reggiano is sliced and sold daily. And in between, everything else: sauces, olives oils, pesto, pastries…
“We visit Italy regularly and maintain strong relationships with our suppliers,” explains Pat. “This allows us to import some of the finest food products this side of Rome. Plus, we carry many of our branded Nicastro Italian food products”—you know the ones, Ottawa; the famous family products sold in finer shops across the city and used in many of our restaurants. “That’s why La Bottega is a full Italian market.”
But La Bottega’s riches don’t end there. Over the past few years, Pat and Rocco have turned the far end of the store into an ad hoc Italian food court. Wind your way past the stacks of antipasto, sardines, and deli meats to find a full-service lunch and dinner restaurant, a takeout sandwich shop, and a quaint café. Many shoppers reward themselves with an espresso and a biscotti, settling in at one of the tables set up outside the entrance. There, you can often find Pat chatting up the regulars, in the happy, welcoming spirit that is La Bottega.
The café has proven so popular, the Nicastros have started to expand. There are now Nicastro cafés on Iris St. and in Gatineau, and one just opened at the Ottawa International Airport.
But the flagship store remains the family’s first distinction. “We’ve made a lot of changes over the last few years,” Pat elaborates. “We’ve added a wine shop, a full catering division, online shopping, and gift basket department. We’ve expanded our restaurant hours and offer local grocery delivery. The one thing we haven’t changed, though, is the incredible value we offer on Italian food. Customers remain confident that when they shop with us, they’re getting the best, most affordable Italian food products in the city.”
Along with the friendliest, most knowledgeable service. Pat and Rocco are in the store every day. So is the management team that’s part actual family: Giovanni Adamo, cheese connoisseur who’s been with La Bottega from the beginning, Alessandro Nicastro—and part honourary family: Larissa Beznaczuk-Smyrnew.
Next year, La Bottega will be commemorating its 30th anniversary. There’ll be an epic celebration and plenty of enticing in-store promotions. It’ll be Pat and Rocco’s way of saying “Grazie!” to the community that has kept an Italian food store viable in the sometimes-challenging ByWard Market for over a century. But really, it’s we Italian food lovers who should be raising a glass to them: “Salute!”
