Founded in Baltimore in 1956 by Palermo-born Gioacchino “Mr. Jimmy” Vaccaro, Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop makes Sicilian pastries and other Italian desserts using the Old World recipes he brought from Italy. Now led by his son Nick, the family business has grown from its original shop into a pastry operation with a production facility, cafés across Greater Baltimore, and nationwide shipping. Cannoli and rum cake remain its signature Baltimore favorites.
Vaccaro's DessertsSince 1906, Vaccaro’s Desserts has made Italian pastries in the Washington, D.C., tradition, with its cannoli at the center of the family business. Now in its fourth generation, the company still uses John Vaccaro’s exact recipe and hand-rolls its shells, while producing and packaging everything in-house for foodservice customers and home orders. Vaccaro’s describes itself as the oldest in-house cannoli maker in the USA.SILVER SPRING, MD
Civitello's Italian Pastry ShoppeSince 1921, Civitello’s Italian Pastry Shoppe has made Italian cookies, pastries, spumoni, ices and other treats in Schenectady. Founded by Ralph Civitello after immigrating from Alvignano, Italy, the shop remains a family tradition, with the Angerami sisters carrying its homemade recipes into a third generation. Its old-fashioned storefront still serves as a gathering place, and its cookies are baked without preservatives, hand-packed to order and shipped across the continental United States.SCHENECTADY, NY
Alfonso's Pastry ShoppeFounded by Alfonso in 1970 after he honed his craft in Italy and worked as a baker at New York’s Plaza Hotel, Alfonso’s Pastry Shoppe makes fresh Italian pastries, cakes and custom celebration cakes on Staten Island. The shop moved to Victory Boulevard in 1978, where Alfonso’s son Anthony Campitiello has preserved his father’s techniques while running the business since 1996 and expanding it to a second location. Traditional pastries share the counter with contemporary cake designs, including detailed specialty cakes made for weddings and family milestones.STATEN ISLAND, NY
Ferrara Bakery & CafeSince 1892, Ferrara Bakery & Cafe has made traditional Italian pastries and desserts at its family-owned pasticceria and espresso bar in New York City’s Little Italy. Now in its fifth generation, the bakery is known for fresh, hand-crafted specialties such as cannoli, sfogliatella and torrone, with recipes and techniques carried through the Lepore family. Ferrara also supplies wholesale orders, custom cakes and nationwide dessert shipments from its historic Grand Street bakery.NEW YORK, NY