Cornering the Market

Iavarone Bros. hits the 90-year milestone

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Iavarone Bros. Quality Foods
1166 Wantagh Ave., Wantagh
(516) 781-6400,
www.ibfoods.com

Joe Iavarone, whose grandfather founded Iavarone Bros. Foods, says he hopes the family’s legacy will always prevail. Celebrating its 90th anniversary, this business has gourmet food retail stores in Wantagh, New Hyde Park, Woodbury, and its oldest, in Maspeth, Queens. Planned for 2018 is the opening of a full service 6,000-square-foot restaurant in Plainview.
Iavarone food business history begins in 1919, when five partners from a town near Naples, Italy, opened a salcicera in East New York, selling old world delicacies like homemade Italian sausages. One of the partners was Pasquale Iavarone, who eventually opened his own Italian sausage store in 1927. By 1951, his sons, Joe and Jerry, had taken over and opened several other locations, seeking out new ideas for additional prepared foods. In the 1970s, the third generation of Iavarone brothers stepped in, and John, Pat and Joe Jr. started distributing Iavarone Bros. Villa di Pasta, while expanding the legacy even more.
Since 2001, some of the European-style marketplaces of the Iavarone brothers have grown to include home-baked breads, cakes and pastries, prime meats, freshly caught seafood selections, appetizers, produce, unique cheeses, hard to find cooking and baking ingredients, pasta and sauces, gourmet coffee and tea. The New Hyde Park location includes the Iavarone Café in the Lake Success Center. The newest and largest store, which opened in 2004, is in Wantagh.
Prepared foods from Iavarone Bros. run the gamut in style. While homemade Italian fare dominates, they also offer the influences of Asian, Mexican, Spanish and French cuisines. Organic, gluten-free and heart-healthy alternatives are on hand too. There’s a complete catering menu, with options for every type of event. Gourmet gift baskets and gift certificates are available too.
“Now the fourth generation works with us,” said Joe — my son, Joseph, Jr., my niece, Michelle, and my nephews, Christopher and Jonathan. We all take pride in offering great customer service. And one day, we hope that the fifth generation will join us too.
 “We want to give back to all the communities that have been so good to us, so we to stay involved and work with charitable organizations whenever we can,” he added. Iavarone Bros. has contributed to the hearing impaired, March of Dimes, The Taste & Toast of the Town for Cerebral Palsy, and various scholarships.