Gustiamo Warehouse hosts community shopping day

<p>As small businesses invite shoppers to their stores today, a high-end importer of Italian foods based in the Bronx is opening its doors to celebrate the community.</p>

News 12 Staff

•

Nov 25, 2017, 6:32 PM

•

Updated 2,579 days ago

As small businesses invited shoppers to their stores Saturday, a high-end importer of Italian foods based in the Bronx opened its doors to celebrate the community.

The Gustiamo Warehouse in West Farms has been a neighborhood fixture since 1999.

Inside the warehouse, Gustiamo is stocked with the finest, freshest ingredients and items made and shipped to the United States.

While the business sells items to Italian restaurants and specialty shops around the country, it opened its doors Saturday for a neighborhood soiree.

The event was a holiday gathering and invitation to shop small and sample their products. Gift baskets filled with real Italian ingredients were also on sale.

"Invite guests, chefs, friends, customers to shop, to talk to us, to learn about real Italian foods and to try our pizza," says Beatrice Ughi, founder of Gustiamo.

Other small, local businesses around the borough, like Zaro's Bakery, had a presence at the event. Zaro's uses Gustiamo's flour in some of their bakery products.

"Sharing a meal means to be together, to improve together, to learn together, and to be better people and better citizens," says Mark Fiorentino of Zaro's Bakery.