In Salt Lake City, Utah, the name Caputo has long been synonymous with good food. In the 1920s, the first generation of Caputos came from Calabria, Italy, to work in the region’s coal mines, and members of that family opened a corner market that serviced the neighborhood. “Back then, there was no concept of a ‘specialty store’—it was not even an option to get olive oil then! —so it was just a basic market,” says Matt Caputo, owner of what’s now a three-store gourmet shop mini-empire. That market eventually closed in the 1970s, but in 1997, one of the descendants of those early immigrants—Tony Caputo, Matt’s dad—opened a deli counter and sandwich shop specializing in classic cold cuts and great cheeses. And so what’s now considered one of the best specialty food shops in the country was born.
There weren’t many true deli-style spots in Salt Lake back then, so Caputo’s quickly became a favorite for its Italian specialties, which include a signature sandwich made with perfectly crusty bread, prosciutto, mortadella, Genoa salami, provolone, balsamic vinegar, and a house blend of olive oil. (Another popular pick is the Old School, with its mix of red pepper spread, sausage, salami, fennel seeds, and Cacio de Roma cheese.) To supplement the sandwiches, the store stocked a few shelves of imported products, and over the years, that selection began to expand—especially as Matt became more involved in the business. “My dad let me take over as buyer for the specialty foods, and trusted me enough to let me order whatever I thought we could sell,” he remembers.
The signature Italian sandwich at Caputo's.
Working in the cheese department, Matt Caputo discovered a passion for not just incredible cheeses from around the world, but the stories behind them. “We were bringing in things no one had seen in this area before, cheeses that people weren’t that familiar with,” he notes. “We’d give tastings and tell the stories behind the producers, and we became known as a fun place to be, as we loved sharing our excitement for these traditions. We were like the neighborhood bartenders, except instead of drinks, we were serving cheeses and meats and stories and comradery.” After a trip through northern Italy revealed to him what taleggio “should really taste like”— “because of shipping, coolers and humidity issues, what we get in this country has not been aged properly,” he explains—Caputo expanded the cheese department into aging and washing, eventually setting up an in-house cheese cave and creating a taleggio “with a more authentic, ripe taste.” Today, Caputo’s makes its own fresh mozzarella and burrata, and works with area cheesemakers to age and wash their cheeses. Many of the results, including the House Cheddar—aged using bandages soaked in butter and duck fat—have won national awards.
Caputo next turned his attention to chocolate. “I had spent a lot of time learning about wine, but then, as I got into chocolate, I realized I could taste more terroir in chocolate than in wine. I realized chocolate could have a sense of place.” In the early 2000s, around the time the craft chocolate movement was just gaining steam, Caputo’s began importing small-batch chocolates from around the world, including from such unlikely places as Iceland and the United Arab Emirates. Because the local market wasn’t as familiar with fine chocolates at that time (or prepared for the prices of most craft bars), Caputo’s added classes in topics like the history of cacao, intro to craft chocolate, and chocolate-and-cheese pairings to its roster of courses. The department soon grew in popularity and recognition, with many now-big chocolate brands crediting Caputo’s with helping them get established.
Tony and Matt Caputo of Caputo's in Salt Lake City. Credit: David Newkirk Photography
In 2011, in honor of the makers of Italian chocolate brand Amedei Tuscany coming to Salt Lake City, Caputo’s decided to throw a party, inviting area chefs, mixologists, and other makers to create dishes and drinks using Amedei products. The result was the first in what’s become a popular annual Chocolate Festival, at which a different chocolatier is featured each year. (It was even held virtually in 2020, to a sold-out crowd.) Caputo’s donates a portion of the proceeds from the festival to Heirloom Cacao Preservation, a non-profit organization dedicated to identifying and preserving heirloom strains of cacao, and helping small farmers and producers make these heritage lines profitable for them “If we don’t do this, these ancient flavors won’t be available to future generations,” says Matt.
It’s this dedication to tradition and authentic flavors that is at the heart of the Caputo’s operation today, whether in the pantry products they import from southern Europe or in chocolate they get from over 20 countries. The brand now has three locations in Salt Lake City, and does a booming online business selling everything from pasta to prosciutto, with support from a deeply knowledgeable staff. The stores offer dozens of cooking and tasting classes a week—both group and private—on such topics as Tour of Italy and Beer & Cheese.
The Caputo’s philosophy remains rooted in Italian ideals. Asked what the future holds for this business, Caputo stresses that it’s all about the stories. “Our vision is to fight to preserve the food traditions of our ancestors,” he says. “We have seen over time how the food system can change the production of what we eat, and there are flavors and traditions that are being lost. We want to find those farmers and producers—all the way up the supply chain—and help them keep doing things the way they want to, without the pressure to expand or grow just for the sake of growing. Our weapon in this fight is to spread these incredible stories and passions for things that don’t taste like anything else.”
Here, Caputo shares his current top three must-try items that showcase the Caputo’s philosophy:
Cheese: “To me, the spirit of antipasti is about the ritual, not about recreating what is exactly in Italy—it never tastes the same as what’s in Italy, anyway, and everyone has their idea of what’s traditional depending on the region. So I focus on the spirit of the tradition and like to mix up my antipasti board with things from all over. While we make our own traditional taleggio in our cheese cave, I love introducing people to our Double Skull Taleggio, which is a project we do with a local brewery. Instead of using a brine solution, we wash the cheese multiple times a day in their Double Skull beer, and it creates a great, funky taste. It’s become a really popular pick.”
Prosciutto: “Nothing is immune to the forces of the agriculture business, and at no time is this clearer to me than when tasting prosciutto from a small producer. What I have found over time is that just because someone has the D.O.P. seal—which is super meaningful, for sure—the taste of the product still changes as the companies and farms grow. Which is why I love the San Daniele prosciutto from Dok Dall’Ava, which was founded because the owner, when working for another maker, realized that his grandmother probably wouldn’t even recognize what was being sold as prosciutto today. I am sure this is the way the meat must have tasted a hundred years ago. Our customers really connect with it, too—you just give them a taste and can see them get weak in the knees. “
Chocolate: “For me, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Italian chocolate is gianduja—I just love the story behind it, and how Napoleon was involved. I’ve done a lot of research into it, and we’ve done blind tastings of gianduja makers, both big and small. I think Guido Gobino is damn near impossible to beat, both for its little gianduiotto chocolates and for its gianduja spread. It’s $19.99 a bottle, but so worth it—both for the taste and the ethical way they source their hazelnuts.”