Have you seen the DeLallo branded Italian products in Kroger? They essentially make up the specialty Italian section, and they often have an end cap devoted to pasta sauce, olives and other goodies.
What I didn't know is that DeLallo is actually a family-owned marketplace in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, that has seen success in the wholesale and retail business.
The George DeLallo Company was founded with the ideals of offering true authentic Italian foods with integrity and consistency. In the mid-1940s, George DeLallo began selling Italian grocery items door-to-door in the immigrant neighborhoods of Western Pennsylvania. In 1954, he and his wife Madeline established a grocery store in Jeannette, Pennsylvania, which specialized in authentic Italian foods. Soon after, they began to develop and sell traditional Italian products under the DeLallo name.
As the years progressed, the retail and wholesale businesses grew. In the 1980s, DeLallo pioneered the olive and antipasti bar concept, which has become a staple of grocery stores around the U.S. and has revolutionized the American consumer’s experience of table olives and antipasti.
Today, DeLallo’s original Jeannette retail store remains a vibrant and beloved part of the community and DeLallo products are distributed throughout the country. Whether it is found on traditional Italian grocery items such as olive oil, pasta, vinegars and tomatoes, or on our complete line of cured olives and antipasti, the DeLallo label guarantees consumers authenticity, integrity, and consistency.This small business that started just over the border in PA has secured a contract with Kroger, apparently, and it has brought these products to people who otherwise wouldn't know this -- like me. Once I discovered this is actually a small, not-too-far marketplace, I wanted to check it out.
So, you will pass through two tolls likely, so be sure to have some extra cash on hand ... Once I arrived, there was a parking lot attendant directing me to go to the back parking lot.
Walking in, there is immediate product. There is fresh produce and nuts. There's a little bit of everything you can think of - fruits, vegetables, fresh nuts that you can scoop by the pound.
Moving around, there's a crazy long olive bar. Olives with feta, blue cheese-stuffed olives, seasoned olives, plus a number of other things like roasted red peppers, bruschetta, stuffed grape leaves, artichokes. You name it. You pile it into a container and weigh it.
Moving around, there's the cheese station. This area was particularly busy , and you even have to pick a number to wait your turn in line. So, I could only see so many items. But, there was fresh mozzarella, cheese spreads, giant wheels of every cheese you can think of.
Moving around, there is a section for prepared foods. Like General Tso's Chicken or cheesy stuffed polenta or spinach and cheese stuffed mushrooms, lasagna, homestyle Italian meatballs, and cabbage rolls.
Then, there's the meat counter. Turkey, ham, whatever you could possibly imagine.
Freshly baked bread lines the wall. I'm also told their pepperoni rolls are great, but I arrived too late to try it out.
Then, there was the sweets counter. Biscotti, cupcakes, salted caramels (you know I picked one of those up!).
And, finally, there is all the packaged pasta and sauces.
There is so much stuff here that it's pretty incredible. It's not like something in a major city, but it's a scaled down version of that, and something I'd love to see in any West Virginia city. Everything I had from that salted caramel to olives from the olive bar to some creamy tortellini was all spectacular. If you have a free moment, check out this place not too far from home for a taste of Italy.
Grade: A