Capital Region Italian Specialty Store Says Ciao! After 101 Years in Business

It is the end of an era. Actually the end of more than a century. An Italian specialty store in Schenectady is closing its doors after one hundred and one years in business.

Cappiello Foods which has been a staple on Broadway in Schenectady since 1921 decided it was time to close for good. The owners say it wasn't an easy decision but they were honoring the wishes of a family member who owned the store for decades.

Why is Cappiello's Closing?

According to Cappiello's Facebook page, there were a number of reasons they felt it was time to close. The main reason was a promise Serena Cappiello and Adrien Washington-Cappiello, who are third and fourth-generation workers and operators of the business, made to Mary Cappiello a couple of years ago. Mary ran Cappiello's for seventy-five years and passed away in 2019.

This decision wasn’t easy at all to come to, it was made due to a combination of supply, economic and health reasons but ultimately it comes down to following Mary’s final verbal and last will wishes for us to close and sell the business upon her passing.

What's the History of Cappiello's?

Lucia and Francesco Cappiello founded Cappiello Foods and set up a store on Broadway in Schenectady in 1921 after coming to America from Sorrento, Italy according to the Daily Gazette. Their main product was various cheeses as they manufactured them in Schenectady and began to sell them door to door. Then set up the store shortly after where it has been for 101 years. The business grew and they had a retail store and a manufacturer which was F. Cappiello Dairy Products In. Then in 2011 the Wisconsin chees company, BelGioioso Cheese Inc. bought the manufacturing side of the business.

When Will They Close?

Cappiello's will be offering during their regular business hours selling their pizza, stuffed bread, sandwiches until they are all gone. Their closing date is Saturday, March 19th.

A goodbye message on Cappiello's Facebook page reads:

We would like to thank the community for all of your patronage, love, and happy memories throughout the years; there’s a lifetime of those memories in these walls, and like with Mary those memories cannot and will not ever be forgotten.