COLUMBIA — The culinary minds behind Terra, Enzo and Bar Gran Sasso have teamed up to create Alimentari Don Luigi, a new Italian wine and grocery store scheduled to open at 11 a.m. on June 20.
Located at 612 Whaley St., Suite C, Don Luigi's chocolate brown walls with wood accents are lined with more than 120 unique bottles of wine, at least one from every region of Italy, according to co-owners Joe Cardinale and Joby Wetzel.
The store also stocks pastas, bottled sauces, Italian snacks and a cold cuts section with groceries imported from around the country, from New Jersey Italian delis to whole, bone-in Tennessee country hams.
The co-owners met while each was working in the kitchen — Wetzel as sous chef at Terra in West Columbia and Cardinale as owner of Italian sandwich shop Enzo's — and bonded over their shared love and interest in Italian food, eventually opening the Venetian-inspired Bar Gran Sasso in August 2022.
Nearly two years later, they're bringing some of their most popular dishes to Don Luigi's prepared food store, named after Cardinale's great-grandfather, in a place that Cardinale believes will “fill a void in the city.”
“You can go out and buy a nice bottle of wine, or you can go out and buy something nice for dinner,” Wetzel said, “but we want the best of both worlds.”
Joe Cardinale, co-owner of Alimentari Don Luigi's, named the grocery store after his great-grandfather, whose photos are displayed inside the store.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
Though the store has a wide selection of items, Cardinale emphasized that everything in stock has a purpose.
“There's nothing extra on the shelves,” he says. “Everything here is stuff that we enjoy, taste and try regularly. We know everything here and we just want to share it.”
The pair have more than 40 years of combined culinary experience and look forward to sharing their expertise with shoppers in the Midland area.
“We say, 'If you like this wine, we also have the perfect pasta shape, pasta sauce and cheese to go with it,'” Wetzel says. “This gives us a great opportunity to showcase a lot of the things we enjoy and think other people might enjoy, too.”
Don Luigi's is decorated with photographs and equipment from traditional Italian winemaking.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
Wetzel said the store, which is equipped with photographs and equipment from traditional Italian winemaking, is an opportunity for customers to learn the stories behind Don Luigi's products.
“A big part of what I've always felt about food is educating people,” Wetzel said. “Now that it's 2024 and food is being served in Columbia, people are much more receptive to it.”
Cardinale said he feels confident about selling these authentic Italian ingredients because of Bar Gran Sasso's history of slowly introducing them to diners.
“We offered Italian wines and lesser-known varietals, and the community trusted us,” Cardinale says. “Now we have all those ingredients, wines and knowledge here. It's just a miniature restaurant.”
At Don Luigi's Warehouse, Wetzel and Cardinale said they want to feature more “avant-garde” offerings in the future. Their list also includes “cucina povera,” or “poor cuisine,” which can involve complex dishes made with less commonly used animal parts like bones and organ meats.
“Those are things that most people shy away from, but maybe in the future people will be interested in them,” Wetzel said. “They just need a little bit of education and that pushes them forward.”
The co-owners want Don Luigi's to be a destination not just for foodies and culinary experts, but for anyone with an interest in Italian cuisine.
“We're not trying to be so exclusive or esoteric that the public can't come in and find something they're happy to take home,” Wetzel says. “The broader the range of people we can reach, the better for everyone.”
Alimentari Don Luigi is named after co-owner Joe Cardinale's great-grandfather.
Sydney Dunlap/Staff
For those who have followed Cardinale and Wetzel's culinary careers, or who are looking to bring some of Bar Gran Sasso's most popular dishes home with them, the co-owners believe the opening of Don Luigi's will bring them closer to fulfilling their dreams than ever before.
“Joby doesn't make Mezzi Rigatoni Bolognese for you, but you can buy the pasta and sauce and make it at home,” Cardinale says.
“So let me walk you through the process,” Wetzel added.
