Profile: Quattrocchi's Specialty Foods
For over 70 years, Quattrocchi’s Specialty Foods has been offering the finest in fresh food products to customers in Kingston and beyond. With a focus on farm-fresh produce and an incredible selection of international flavours, this family-owned business has thousands of loyal customers, including long-time residents and new immigrants looking for familiar tastes from home.
The business had its early origins in Sicily when Joe’s grandfather, as a young man, would take the donkey-led cart of fresh produce to market. In 1949, Rose and Phil Quattrocchi, opened a store at Bay and Montreal Streets in Kingston, eventually moving to their current location at 662 Montreal Street. Their son, and current owner, Joe Quattrocchi, continues to offer a vast inventory of Ontario-grown produce, international products, including spices, pastas, sauces and flours. “Everything in the store is here because someone asked for it,” he says. “Immigrants regularly come in and request products from their home countries, which we are happy to source for them. Canadians who have travelled enjoy being able to re-create international meals using authentic ingredients.”
Quattrocchi’s also offers a wide selection of gift baskets, as well as pickling and winemaking equipment and aquaponics products. Their garden centre is well known for its wide selection of flower and vegetable plants. Looking for peppers? They offer 20 varieties of them.
The business, like any other, has experienced its ups and downs over the years, and adapting and adjusting to change has been key to its success. As an example, Joe notes that about 60% of his purchasing is now done with his Smartphone.
The pandemic, while challenging, opened new opportunities for the store. By designing a unique on-line presence, people from around the world are able to peruse the products offered and then send gift baskets or groceries to their friends and loved ones who are unable to go out or are in quarantine. The store offers regular grocery deliveries across Kingston and in neighbouring areas for a small fee.
Something that hasn’t changed is their dedication to both customers and employees. Generations of families have shopped at Quattrocchi’s and the staff know many by name. Thousands of employees have come back to visit over the years too. ( Quattrocchi jokes that one in three Kingstonians have probably worked at the store at some point).
Even with a loyal following and a long history, Quattrocchi says they continue to look for new ways to delight their customers. “In business, everything evolves, and you have to as well, if you want to be successful,” he says. “You can’t stand still.”
Quattrocchi’s Delivery Truck, 1949