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This week's edition of the Local Flavor features Nasoula Koutsofavas of Maria's Pizza Palace in Colchester. Koutsofavas was born and raised in Griswold and Colchester by her parents, both newly immigrated from Greece. They found work in the United States in the restaurant industry and carved out their own paths. It's there that Koutsofavas found he...

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Saugatuck Sweets in Fairfield and Westport is known for its ice cream but also its outreach. Owner Al DiGuido founded the charity Al's Angels 25 years ago to help kids with cancer. He's now supporting the millions of people fleeing Ukraine.  "We said, 'We have to start to do something.' We can't sit on the sidelines watching this all happen and say...

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Coffee lovers in Norwalk might have a new go-to spot in town. Pausa Caffè, an Italian coffee shop, opened its doors on Sunday. "People say that when they walk in they feel like they are in a little shop in Italy," said owner Stafano Cutugno, who used to own a coffee shop in Sicily before moving to the United States eight years ago. When Cutugno mov...

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Just when we were preparing to write about him, Anthony Riccio left us. He left us at just 69 years old, all of a sudden and without a fuss, which was just his style. Anthony had become a photographer as a child, developing photographic negatives in his house’s bathroom in New Haven, Connecticut. For his whole life, he worked as a librarian at Yale...

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Tucked away on a dead-end road in Hamden is what may very well be the center of Connecticut’s Italian cheese universe. The Liuzzi family started making cheese back in Italy in 1832. They brought that expertise to America in the middle of the 20th century, and they’ve been making it under the Liuzzi Cheese label since 1981. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (...

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It was Mrs. Sargent’s admiration for the Italian work ethic that encouraged Sargent & Co. to recruit Italian men to come to New Haven to work for the hardware manufacturer. When the immigrants arrived in New Haven from Ellis Island, those who were conscripted to work at Sargent, which was located on Water Street in a large multibuilding complex, we...

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After 15 years, Cafe Amici will leave its corner storefront in Spring Glen for a larger space, but it won’t be moving far. The owners of the Italian restaurant, which opened at 1670 Whitney Ave. in 2007, hope to complete the move to 1640 Whitney Ave. by mid-March. They also will keep their current space, where they plan to open a new restaurant wit...

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Rob Maffucci is a happy man. He’s cooking every day at his new takeout-only Vito’s Pizza in Berlin. He smiles and laughs as he prepares his mother’s traditional Italian recipes in the compact kitchen. Memories of his earlier life can be seen in the café. Newspaper and magazine clippings tell of his 25-year status as one of the most beloved restaura...

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The West Haven community and beyond is mourning the death of Aniello Cappetta, the founder of Cappetta's Italian Imports Pizza and Catering. He was 73. The family announced Cappeta's death in a post on the eatery's Facebook page on Monday. "It is with great sadness that we tell you about the passing of our founder Aniello Cappetta," the post reads....

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It was December 1947, just days before New Year’s Eve. Twenty-one-year-old Anthony “Tony” Gillistro had just come home from the Marine Corps and was paying his childhood friend William Manocchio a visit on Standish Street, their old neighborhood in Wethersfield, Conn. “The guys were getting together for a New Year’s Eve party. We all just came home...

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