Everyone can exhale. There was a minute, there, when we thought we were going to lose La Gioia Italian Deli but thankfully, it’s coming back!
La Gioia Italian Deli announced in June that after 33 years, it was going to close its doors. Thankfully, in September, a new generation is taking over, hoping to be back open at the end of October.
According to the Daily Gazette, Laura Marino, the daughter of one previous owner and niece to the other, is working on remodeling the space on Van Vranken to “reopen the family establishment with all its original offerings, and a few new fixings.”
La Gioia Italian Deli was a staple in the Italian-centric Schenectady, until Marino’s mother, Modesta Morson, and aunt, Anna DiCocco decided to close the business to focus on their health. Initially, they intended to sell the business but after a few plans fell through, Marino, who was 11 when the deli opened, wanted to give it a go to see if she could make it work first to keep it in the family.
“I just had some time to reflect on things and just kind of soak it all in, to be honest,” Marino said. “And throughout that whole time, I have this fire in me that just — that’s my life. It’s in my blood. It was our family business.”
Original owners Morson and DiCocco will be making sure that the quality is what you remember from their generation (and chances are, they’ll make pit stops in the kitchen here and there). The goal is to keep the legacy alive while making it her own.