In November of 2019, 61-year-old Don Gigliotti, a guy who spent 25 years in the food distribution business before retiring, waded back into the work force and into the burgeoning Penticton restaurant scene with his first-ever eatery, the Godfather-themed Corleone's Pizzeria in the 600 block of Main Street.
Three months later the pandemic hit.
So what did Gigliotti do? He gave away freebie pizzas to those finding themselves suddenly unemployed. Then he started scouting around for another space for another restaurant.
"Everybody asked, 'Are you kidding?,'" he said Wednesday. "'Do you understand we're going through COVID?' But I had the passion to do it. I had the will and the way."
Gigliotti's passion would eventually pay off. Monday morning, still in the midst of the pandemic, he opened his second Penticton venue, just a couple blocks and a three-minute walk from his first.
And if the customer numbers during PentictonNow's visits are any indication, the prognosis is positive.
It's called Caffè d'Italia and it's in the exact same location where, for six years, Saint-Germain Café and Gallery mixed food, drink, art and music before closing its doors for the final time in September.
Caffè d'Italia, explained Gigliotti, is unabashedly a straight-up "Italian coffee shop."
"I wanted to do coffee, but like the pizzeria, I wanted to make it different from everything else out there. The pizzeria is Italian-themed, Mafia-themed. And the new coffee shop is all Italian.
"Probably 98% of my stuff is imported from Italy. The coffee's imported from Italy, the pastries are imported from Italy, the sandwich meat is imported from Italy, and the (cold) drinks come from Sicily."
Even before the Saint-Germain exit, Gigliotti was ready to strike.
"I had four or five locations in mind, but for one reason or another I didn't go with them," he said.
"And I'd acquired equipment from a coffee shop in Vancouver, in August. Top-notch equipment. I stored it in my garage and said the day something comes up, I'll be ready to go."
Gigliotti says it took him nearly two months to revamp the place. It's been entirely repainted and redesigned for a brighter, more contemporary look. There's a huge map of Italy on the back wall, and the serving area, with its wholesale influx of new gear, is now open concept.
We asked how COVID has impacted his pizza biz, and discovered Gigliotti has fared pretty well.
"It was busier than expected," he said. "We're pretty much delivery and take-out, and to be honest, it grew. I had people asking me if I applied for the grant. Did I get government money? But it grew so much that I had to hire another person."
Now with two restaurants on the go, the now thoroughly un-retired Gigliotti is a busy man. But, he says, it's doable.
"I oversee the pizza place in the morning. I make the dough and the sauces. Then I come over here 'til 3 and will be here personally to answer any questions people might have.
"And because this one's open from 9 to 3 and the pizza place is open from 4 to 9, I'll cross some of the employees back and forth. I have the same POS system, so they can walk in here and know how to use it."
Caffè d'Italia is, primarily, all about the coffee. Gigliotti says customers can expect high-grade imported espresso, cappuccino and lattes. And drip coffee too, which he says is "very big here."
Sandwiches include the current best-seller, a capicollo panini with provolone, and three others every day. Soups include Italian staples such as minestrone.
The cooler houses a variety of canned and bottled imported beverages that you simply won't regularly see in Canada. The desert menu features stuff like tiramisu and biscotti and an Italian sweet bread called "panettone" that comes individually wrapped in colourful boxes and is absolutely exquisite.
In addition, Gigliotti promises Italian ice cream in the spring, at just about the same time he opens his small sidewalk patio.
But perhaps most importantly, nothing on the current menu is priced above seven bucks. Sounds good to us.
Caffè d'Italia, located at 449 Main Street, is open 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Saturday. For more information, head to its website here.
