By Darlene Brace
Tuscany Market & Deli, located at 450 E. Main Street in Fredonia, is your one-stop shop, featuring a butcher shop, deli, homemade dishes, a greenhouse, and a complete grocery market to meet all your shopping needs. Treat yourself to their award-winning subs and sandwiches made to order, along with a wide variety of other delightful offerings. You’ll experience the warmth of a family-run business that has been serving the community for over 100 years. Owned by Kevin Civiletto and his parents, George and Wendy, Tuscany Market & Deli is a place where tradition, quality, and community come together.
Kevin’s great-grandfather, George Civiletto, immigrated to Fredonia with a few bags and a lemon tree. He opened Civiletto & Son Greenhouses in 1918, selling flowers, plants, and fresh produce. The business was initially on Prospect Street. In the 1950s, Kevin’s grandparents, Dominic and Marie, took over, and Kevin’s father George followed in their footsteps. In the early 90s, they purchased the land at the current location, and relocated the business there, initially selling products from a tent on the lot. In 1994, a building and greenhouses were built there, and they opened it as In a Nutshell Garden and Gift Shop.
In 2004, the Civilettos decided to venture into the food industry. They recognized a lack of family-run locally owned groceries in the area and wanted to fill that gap. They opened Tuscany Fresh Meats & Deli, with a full grocery store that had an old-fashioned fresh meat counter, a sliced-to-order deli, and traditional Italian imports. After the business transformed and expanded, it was rebranded as Tuscany Market & Deli in 2023, adopting the lemon tree as its official symbol to honor the roots of the original family business.
Today, Tuscany Market & Deli is recognized as an Italian deli and specialty grocery market that offers quality products with prices lower than those of chain supermarkets. Tuscany Market & Deli’s “old-school butcher shop” includes premium, freshly cut meats, including hand-cut steaks and roasts, homemade sausage and house-prepared cook-and-serve burgers, as well as stuffed chicken breasts, and other specialties, all made in-house daily using their own recipes.
as an Italian deli and specialty grocery market. Their greenhouses
are still in operation featuring flowers, fruits, veggies, and herbs. The Civilettos
are dedicated to supporting other local small businesses by featuring
their products in their market. Customers will find a variety of items from other
small businesses.
Their deli features a wide variety of sliced to order meats and cheeses, including Boar’s Head premium products. Along with the made to order subs and sandwiches, they have wraps, salads, and soups, and includes several gourmet specialty options. They embrace their Italian roots and include gourmet imports like pastas, olives, sauces, tapenades, spices, beverages, snacks, sweets, pastries, and more. Tuscany Market & Deli can also accommodate larger gatherings, with platters that include deli meats and cheeses, cheese and pepperoni, fruits and veggies, subs, and wraps.
Their greenhouses are still in operation featuring flowers, fruits, veggies, and herbs. They offer seasonal items like locally grown pumpkins, mums, and apples in the fall and fresh-cut Christmas trees and wreaths in the winter.
The Civilettos are dedicated to supporting other local small businesses by featuring their products in their market. Customers will find a variety of items from other small businesses, including Overwinter Coffee, Romolo Chocolates, Borsari Spices, Whizz-N-Smash, Dinosaur BBQ Sauces, Essentially Well Oiled Confections, Butterlow Cafe & Patisserie Baked Goods, and Grape Country Candles.
Another way the Civilettos support local small businesses is with their late summer small business fair block party. They named it The Tuscany Lemon Drop – A Community Block Party, and this year was its third year. In its first year, they also celebrated their rebranding and the unveiling of their new logo of a lemon tree. Kevin stated, “I believe that locally owned businesses in a small town like ours are more successful when we uplift each other. We have wonderful relationships with other small business owners in town and invited them to be part of this community celebration that focuses on the importance of shopping local. This year, nearly thirty businesses joined us, making it a great success.”
The Tuscany Market and Deli is a full-service grocery market. It includes delicious meats, cheeses, baked goods, homemade dishes, and their award-winning subs and sandwiches that were voted by Best of the Best Awards, along with Best Meat Store and Best Overall Grocery Store. This year, they are in the top five for all three categories again. Come to Fredonia and check out Tuscany Market & Deli to see all that they have to offer. They are open year-round from 8am-8pm, seven days a week, but close at 6pm on Sundays. For more information you can visit their Facebook page or call 716-672-2222.