Business Spotlight: Italia Panetteria & Deli
We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of the first lockdown due to COVID-19.
Over this past year, I’ll admit it’s become increasingly easy to remain focused on my own list of immediate needs. When I walked into a grocery store and saw the shelves were completely bare, it was a jarring sight for me. It was the first time I genuinely felt a little uncertain and concerned about the well-being of the citizens of Southern California. For the months to follow, this created a certain “panic” impulse in people to go ahead and buy in bulk whenever they possibly could.
It’s interesting, in the midst of a crisis, being a witness to how a community can pull together and take care of one another. Sure, you’ll always come across people that exhibit a very poor example of what “community” or “grace” or “selflessness” look like. Simply go online and click on the comments section of literally any kind of political opinion piece, and you’ll have opened the up the floodgates of where those folks generally like to hang out.
But enough about them. Because where the spotlight should really be, is on the local citizens and business owners who have gone above and beyond to serve their community and exceed what is expected or required. And if you haven’t met them yet already, I’d like to introduce you to two in particular, the business owners of Italia Panetteria & Deli.
John and Victoria Magnanimo brought their family tradition to the Santa Clarity Valley in the fall of 2008 with the opening of Italia Panetteria & Deli. Upon entering their store you can’t help but browse their shelves lined with bottles of extra virgin olive oil and various tapenade, while smelling freshly baked bread - a family recipe handed down through generations. And what better to put on home-made freshly baked bread, but roast beef that’s actually been roasted and prepared in-house. Not only is their deli case overflowing with various imported and domestic meats and cheeses to choose from, but their freezer is packed with authentic Italian dishes ready to take and bake as well. Try a family favorite, eggplant parmigiana, or purchase pizza dough, fresh ingredients to top it with and house-made sauce, which is all available for you to take home and bake. For dessert, try a cannoli or authentic gelato!
With MPM offices conveniently being located right across the street, Italia Panetteria & Deli is a frequent favorite of ours. Their quality of food easily makes them stand out from the rest of the choices we have available for lunch or dinner. But when I started hearing about their generosity to the community over the past year, I couldn’t help but love them even more.
Victoria graciously made time to speak with me about their passion for Italian food and the overall impact that COVID has had on the business. And it’s what you would expect to hear from any of the restaurants in the area: catering for large parties has come to an abrupt stop, business has ebbed and flowed depending on the current mandates, and employees miss the days of having conversations with their customers who have come to be more like family. It hasn’t been easy, but for them, it’s been worth the decision to remain open. Which, was a decision involving their entire staff, as Victoria noted, “I want my staff to always feel safe. I would never want them to feel like they’re in danger. Our staff is our family too.”
John Magnanimo, Owner of Italia Panetteria & Deli donates over 100 meals for the COVID Units and Emergency Department at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
As if on cue, the majority of customers who came in and out as me and Victoria were speaking, were actually greeted warmly by their first names. She recalled that when the pandemic first hit, Italia was able to provide many of the basic essentials that were often missing from the grocery store shelves such as eggs, flour, and even toilet paper. Victoria remarks, “We were in a fortunate position, since we get those items wholesale. So it was no problem to package them up, and hand them over to people who needed it. People were just scared. We were glad to be able to reassure our customers and provide goods that they could rely on, when everything seemed to be changing by the week.” Italia Panetteria & Deli continued to demonstrate this mindset all year, even as the COVID numbers topped the charts again in December. In the midst of another shutdown as businesses were doing everything they could to keep from closing their doors for good, John and Victoria delivered and donated over 100 meals for the COVID Units and Emergency Department at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital.
Whether or not you believe COVID has been overly politicized, or you think masks are practical or worthless, or if you believe that there are some who aren’t taking the pandemic seriously enough, I believe we can all get behind the level of kindness and generosity that John and Victoria Magnanimo have provided to the community. It’s this kind of leadership that presents a true example of how a community successfully pulls together to see through to the other side of a crisis. While it’s easy to remain focused and anxious for the never-ending list of needs and what-ifs that your own business has had during this time, rising up to demonstrate generosity and care despite and unsteady future is truly an incredible thing.
For that reason, and for the undeniably delicious assortment of sandwiches, Italian dishes, desserts and other array of items, I sincerely urge you to stop by Italia Panetteria & Deli for lunch or dinner as soon as you possibly can.