After 30 years of being a gourmet chef at 5-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants in Italy, Sicilian chef Salvo Lo Castro came to New York City in late 2022 to launch Casa Salvo, a service providing private chefs in people’s homes, businesses, embassies with catering. And that business led to his launching Casa Salvo, an espresso bar in May 2024 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with the same name. The retail store will serve to promote the private chef business.

And since Lo Castro is a brand ambassador for Dokito, an Italian coffee supplier, he can buy his beans at lower prices, enabling him to charge only $2.50 for a cup of espresso. In a city where small cups of coffee and espresso are going for $4 and in many cases $5 and more, espresso for $2.50, prepared by a gourmet Italian chef is, what many New Yorkers, would call, a deal.