Last March, while Executive Chef Fabrizio Facchini was about to debut Cotto, the flagship Italian restaurant at the Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, the city went into lockdown. Innovation is critical for success as a chef, and rather than panic as his livelihood stood still, Facchini had a pandemic reinvention.
He sprang into action by founding the nonprofit Italians Feed America, inspired by World Central Kitchen founder and friend José Andrés. Facchini tapped into his deep resources in the food industry, including restaurateurs and acclaimed chefs like Elizabeth Falkner, and partnered with Italian food brands and distributors. His non-profit to date has provided nearly 400,000 meals to food-insecure communities.
As his restaurants remained closed, the father of four children needed to figure out how to keep providing for his own family. His Midtown Manhattan eatery Memoria, where he was the executive chef, shuttered permanently last summer. Keenly aware of the impact Covid-19 was having on consumer grocery habits, Facchini noticed eye-opening shifts: more people are growing and harvesting their vegetables; there's an increased interest in livestream cooking classes and a greater demand for high-quality ingredients purchased online. "People want to learn how to cook. It's not like before when everyone was buying prepared food," he says. "The U.S. has gotten back to the basics."
Facchini acted on these observations by doing something completely unexpected. Along with two other partners, he bought the 30-year-old Cardinali Italian Bakery founded by fellow Italian immigrant Luigi Melcarne in the town of Syosset, on Long Island's North Shore. (Trusted friend Rocco DiSpirito checked out the space and gave him the thumbs up).
Featured in a 2009 New York Times article for its elaborate chocolate Christmas displays, Cardinali Bakery comes with more than just a devoted clientele and a stellar reputation for delicious Italian sweets. "It's not only a bakery for making bread and cakes. It's a spot to do catering," says Facchini about the 12,000-square-foot space, which also has an eat-in café.
Three of the 57 different types of bread available at Cardinali Bakery on Long Island.
Since taking over the business, Facchini hit the ground running, modernizing the interior, redesigning the logo, launching a website with online ordering, and buying new equipment, including replacing the old-fashioned cash register with a digital one. Existing staff could keep their jobs, plus new talent like esteemed Master Chocolatier Christophe Toury came onboard. He expanded the pastry selections to include specialties like bomboloni, ciambelle, and chocolate pralines. There are now 57 different kinds of bread sold at Cardinali, from focaccia to French to challah, all made in the brick oven on premises.
Also in the works are cooking and baking classes like pasta with Facchini, focaccia with pizza king Roberto Caporuscio, and gelato with Melcarne, as well as a satellite location in nearby Oyster Bay.
Furthermore, Facchini plans to expand Cardinali into a market concept, a sort of mini-Eataly or Citeralla. The first store is located in the same Syosset strip mall as the bakery, with a June opening anticipated. Plans are in the works for additional locations in Montauk and the Hamptons. All products will be available for shipment, initially throughout the Northeast, then nationwide.
Home cooks will soon be able to stock their pantry with high-quality imported ingredients like Pasta Di Martino (packaging designed by fashion house Dolce & Gabbana), Pistacchio DiSano nuts and spreads from Milan, Frantoio Sallemi olive oil, and Pecorino Etrusco cheese from Umbria.
Cardinali Bakery will expand under Fabrizio Facchini, who plans an Italian market, pizzeria, and satellite locations across Long Island.
Facchini adds that he’s excited to introduce customers to Italian delicacies like Colatura di Alici, a fish sauce made from anchovies that recently received DOP status. It's typically used as a base for soups, although he suggests mixing spaghetti with a touch of this sauce, olive oil, garlic, and chili for a simple, delicious meal. A variety of fresh, organic produce sourced from local farms and, during winter, farms based in California and Florida, plus an assortment of meats, local fish, and Cardinali Bakery products, are among the provisions for sale.
And that’s not all! Also at the new market, Cardinali Pizzeria. Wood-fired Neapolitan pies will be available at the Syosset market, with stand-alone pizzerias in Montauk and Southampton opening sometime this year. There are also plans for a frozen pizza that will ship nationwide.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist are all-encompassing jobs, and so is a professional chef. Yet Facchini isn't hanging up his apron anytime soon. Cotto, he says, will finally open in May. The authentic Italian menu features specialty dishes, including burrata al tartufo with freshly shaved summer truffles and paccheri al pistachio di Bronte with a creamy saffron sauce and pistachio pesto. Not satisfied with only one restaurant, he plans for an Oyster Bay Italian eatery associated with the Cardinali brand, tentatively opening in June.
How does Facchini navigate the multiple pivots he's incurred throughout the last year, including relocating his family to Long Island? "I don't have a life," he says jokingly.