Walk into West Tampa's Cacciatore and Sons and you will almost immediately feel like family.
This is a West Tampa staple.
"Growing up in the stores just it's a blessing because I get to be with my family and with the customers that we love so much. And it's just a great community. And I can't be happier to be here with with with everybody," said Angelo Cacciatore.
Cacciatore and Sons started in Ybor more than 100 years ago and later moved to Armenia Avenue.
Inside, you'll find homemade hot foods, sandwiches, a variety of pasta and fresh meats. They're known for their homemade Italian sausage.
Today, Angelo is the fourth generation running and working the store, helping third and fourth-generation customers, too.
"So what we do is we cook, like what we were taught when we were kids, the kind of food that we grew up with. And the people have responded immensely. Because now that it says, man, that lasagna is like my grandmother used to make, and that sauces like my Nana used to make, so that, you know, we were cooking our traditional Tampa food, and it has become a great success," said Mark Cacciatore.
The Cacciatore Family originally came to Ybor from Italy more than 100 years ago and opened up the butcher shop.
"We're a Tampa market. We're not a New York-style market. We're not a Cuban market. We're a Tampa market. It's a different feel, influenced by those cultures. Like he said previously, the cigar industry created that Tampanian, and that's what we do, and we're just guided by our customers' needs. So we see what they need, what they like, and we do it," explained Mark and Angelo Cacciatore.
It really comes down to traditions here and passing them along to the community.
"We have people coming in here that know my grandparents and knew my parents and it's just a wonderful opportunity to be part of this great town. This town is the best," said Mark Cacciatore. "I've been all over the world; there's no place like Tampa because the mixture of the culture. We have a special mix of Sicilian, Spanish, and Cuban and that makes a Tampaian and that's what I am, a Tampanian."
