Ciao! Born and raised in southern Italy and now a ...

Ciao! Born and raised in southern Italy and now a proud resident of Tampa! My American friends have challenged me to find all the best and worst places that offer Italian foods. Here is what I think of this place. This is what I think that a grocery store probably looked like back in the 70 s. It leans heavy Italian, but not 100% Italian. It might be more just ethnic than Italian. It s got some Spanish and Mexican foods, a nice produce section and a really nice meat section. The one thing I don t like is the hours. They close at 7 during the week and 6 on weekends. For me that's tough but if you live close, this is really a great alternative to your local Publix, and is even an upgrade to any Winn Dixie I ve been in. The prices are competitive and it s been around for over 100 years so it s doing something right. From an Italian s perspective, it s focused on the American Italian, as it should be, with their butcher shop as a highlight. For a native Italian, especially someone from southern Italy, we eat more seafood than we do meat, and the store lacks a great seafood selection, but so does most of the grocery stores in Florida I ve found.