L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 12 2018 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano S ince 1978 Siena Imports, Mr. Espresso and ItalFoods have been servicing the Bay Area and beyond with Italian wine, coffee and spe- cialty food products. The 40th anniversary celebrations took place in late June at the Fort Mason Center Firehouse in San Francisco. The event gave the opportunity to taste fine wines, as well as Made in Italy products and special espresso coffee. As Siena Imports' founder, Romano Chietti, told L'Italo- Americano he Carlo di Ruocco and Walter Guerra were all pur- suing a career to support their families while in San Francisco in the early 1970s. At that time, Romano was driving a FIAT with a license plate that read Cynar, Walter an original FIAT 500, and Carlo a Vespa. It's not by chance that they got in line to register their businesses at the Ferry Building on the same day in 1978. The communal decision also implied that anyone who would fail could work for the other. Due to their common edu- cation, they relied on l'arte di arrangiarsi, which means that they all had it within them to succeed by hustling their way through the hurdles that small businesses have to deal with in order to thrive. Romano was born in Montal- cino in 1940, today's one of the most important wine appellations in Italy. He immediately identi- fied the lack of quality of Italian wines on the market. "In those days, Italian wine lists featured 80% French, 15% Californian and 5% Italian wines," Mr Chiet- ti recalls. "Since 1997, my mis- sion has been to take that a step further to include wines from all of the 20 regions in Italy while respecting their diverse appella- tions. Today, we have wines from 17 out of the 20 regions, with their unique, new, and upcoming viticultural areas." The Bay Area has an open mind when it comes to explore the new frontiers in Italian wines, and a knack for diving deeper into wines that respect the ambiente of historic - and sometimes hero- ic - viticultural areas. "Ambiente - he explains - refers to tradition, culture, and the diverse soils, grapes varietals and climates Italy offers. There is no country that includes all of the soils pre- sent throughout the worlds' wine making regions and latitudes, and over thousands of grape vari- etals." How does the future look like, we asked. "The future is opti- mistic because we are lucky to have such an intense interest on authentic Italian restaurants now SERENA PERFETTO sciutto di Parma, Brunello, and espresso were largely unknown here 40 years ago. The move- ment had to start somewhere and Mr. Espresso, together with Siena Imports and ItalFoods, is one of the few companies that helped pave the way." And con- tinued: "It is incredible to think back about the courage and the passion necessary to embark on such an endeavor. Not to men- tion the unwavering support each founder must have received from their families." Mr di Ruocco never stops thinking of the future: "We hope that culi- nary traditions, passed on from generation to generation for cen- turies, can continue to find con- text as the world changes and modernizes. Our job is to help carry these traditions forward. That's why, on behalf of the Mr. Espresso family and community, I would like to thank our col- leagues at ItalFoods and Siena Imports for traveling down this path with us, for helping set the right example, and for their friendship through all of these years." focusing on regional menus with the knowledge of what quality products Italy has to offer. That leads right into the three compa- ny's areas of expertise: wine, food and coffee. On a retail set- ting, we can find almost any- thing throughout the Bay Area to bring traditional quality products home and reproduce the meals from our companies at the din- ner table." We also talked to Richard Armanino, director of sales at ItalFoods, who explained the reasons of such big celebrations for the three companies. "First, we celebrate the courage of Wal- ter and Georgette Guerra to start ItalFoods. Their vision and com- mitment to Italian specialty food made it possible for small artisan producers to export into the greatest country in the world." And he added: "We also cele- brate the relationship with our suppliers and customers. Not only those who have been with us for 40 years, but also those with whom we have started working recently. This celebra- tion is also unique because we're sharing this anniversary with Mr. Espresso and Siena Imports. It is unusual to have three com- panies, that started four decades ago, continue to retain their posi- tion and to service their market with the same philosophy and passion they started with in 1978. I'm proud to be associated with that and I look forward to continuing that tradition." What has changed and what has been the same in these years, we also asked. "We have experi- enced many changes over the years, from government regula- tions we need to comply with, to food trends. The one constant has been our philosophy to rep- resent our suppliers and clients with respect and integrity. It is important to listen and to stay connected to the pulse of the industry. Our customers rely on us and we try our best to accom- modate their requests." Giving his opinion on the products that best represent the Made in Italy, Mr Armarino has no doubts. "Italy is blessed in so many ways and one of those is the ability to produce such beau- tiful, high quality food products. Made in Italy products can be found in every category, such as beverages, pasta, olive oil, legumes, vinegars, desserts, flours, tomatoes, vegetables, sea- sonal items, organic products and gluten free products, just to name few." Looking at the future, Ital- Food sees itself as the embodi- ment of Italy's own dichotomy, tradition and innovation."We're committed to continue with the same philosophy and passion that Walter and Georgette started with 40 years ago. We'll keep investing in infrastructures to manage continued growth and we will continue to add specialty items to our portfolio, without forgetting about the items that we've had for 40 years. We love what we do, being part of this industry, and representing Italy here in the Bay Area. We feel blessed." Also Carlo di Ruocco, Founder and CEO of Mr. Espresso, has his say on the cel- ebrations: "We take it for grant- ed today, but things like pro- Richard Armanino from ItalFoods during the event. Ph credits Hardy Wilson The cake celebrating 40th anniversary of the three companies - Ph credits Hardy Wilson Lorenzo Ortona, Italy Consul General, addressing the audience during the event.. Ph credits Hardy Wilson SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY ItalFoods, Siena Imports, and Mr Espresso: forty years of Italian delicacies, wine and coffee From far left, Romano Chietti and his son Jason from Siena Imports. Ph credits Hardy Wilson

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