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New York Post
24-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Brooklyn pork store's closure after 55 years underscores sad exodus of beloved Italian mainstays: ‘We didn't leave you — you left us'
After 55 years as a tasty Italian hallmark of Brooklyn's Bensonhurst neighborhood, Bari Pork Store is cutting its last slice of gabagool on Saturday, June 29. 'It feels like I'm losing a big part of my life,' co-owner George Firrantello told The Post of the impending closure of the beloved shop, which first opened in 1969 on 18th Avenue. Firantello said he had no choice but to say ciao. 'Some of my customers coming in are devastated,' Firrantello said. 'They say, 'Oh, you guys are leaving us.' No, no, no. We didn't leave you — you left us.' 15 Nino Manning (seated), Javier Castillo and co-owners Tony Turrigiano and George Firrantello pose for a photo at Bari Pork Store in Bensonhurst. After more than half a century, the business is closing its doors. Michael McWeeney Firantello is referring to the changing demographics of Bensonhurst, which was once flourishing with Italian-American businesses and the clientele to match. Just this month, right up the street from Bari, another neighborhood hallmark, SAS Italian Records, also played its final song. It opened in 1967. 'These days, there's just not enough customers coming into the place,' Firantello said of his exit after running Bari for the past 26 years alongside partner Tony Turrigiano, the latter putting in 37 years of pork-store service. 'It means a lot to me that the store has meant a lot to a lot of people. I know kids who came in who now have kids of their own,' Firantello said. 'We've fed a lot of families over the course of the years.' 15 'It feels like I'm losing a big part of my life,' co-owner George Firrantello told The Post of his beloved neighborhood business. Michael McWeeney 15 Parmigiano cheese and prosciutto are on display in a deli case. Michael McWeeney 15 Co-owner George Firrantello, who has been at Bari for 25 years, takes some meat to be sliced from the refrigerator. Michael McWeeney But an exodus of customers isn't the only headwind Firrantello has fought. 'Running the store has just gotten more expensive, between the rent, electricity, insurance, payroll tax, and so on and so forth,' he said. Their heartbroken landlord even offered to reduce the rent to keep the store in business. 'But it still would have been too high,' said Firrantello. 'In my head, I'm saying, 'How much could you reduce it? $500? What would $500 do for me?'' The partners also looked into selling the business. But according to Firrantello, 'Nobody was really interested.' That underscores a big shift for the area. 15 Behind the counter, Nino Mannino, who has been at Bari for 15 years, helps a customer named Agnes with an order. Michael McWeeney 15 Firrantello shares a smile from behind the counter stocked with canned tomatoes, prepared-food menus and more. Michael McWeeney When it comes to Italian pork stores, the titular animal is more colloquial as they tend to sell everything from sandwiches to pantry items, breadcrumbs, olives, cheese and the like. 'Pork stores are a staple of many Italian-American communities, especially here in the Northeast,' Anthony 'Tony Mangia' Scillia, a New Jersey-based influencer who highlights Italian businesses across the tri-state area, told The Post. 'The butchers and proprietors usually know their customers on a first-name basis,' said Scillia. 15 Co-owner George Firrantello, who has been at Bari Pork Store for 25 years, takes an order over the phone as the Bensonhurst fixture prepared to close its doors. Michael McWeeney 15 Firrantello trims meat to be used in the shop's popular sausages. Michael McWeeney 15 Firrantello weighs a brown-wrapped deli treat for a customer. Michael McWeeney Perhaps that's why famous faces, including 'The Sopranos' vets Steve Schirripa and the late Tony Sirico, were fans of Bari in particular, Firrantello said. 'They have a connection to the community. When you went into the store they knew your order,' Scillia explained. 'And to be honest, the quality of the items in these stores are always far superior to the big supermarkets.' Bari is especially known for its luscious, fresh mozzarella along with plump, signature sausages, the recipe for which is sailing into the sunset as well. 'I'm gonna take that with me,' a steadfast Firrantello said. 15 Turrigiano, a Bari fixture for nearly 40 years, ties sausage links. Michael McWeeney 15 A display case shows off freshly made sausage. Michael McWeeney While there are seemingly thriving shops — including Faccio's Italian Specialties' multiple locations around the city, the ever-busy Emily's Pork Store in Williamsburg and Calabria Pork Store on Arthur Avenue in The Bronx — old-school pork stores are becoming a dying breed even beyond Firrantello's neighborhood. G. Esposito and Sons Pork Store in Carroll Gardens closed in 2023 after 100 years in business, while the decades-old Mario's Butcher Store on Brooklyn's Metropolitan Avenue shuttered in 2022 after the death of its eponymous owner, Mario Zollo. Over in Little Italy, the 130-year-old Alleva Dairy said arrivederci last year as well. German pork stores also aren't immune to the trend, with Ridgewood's Morscher's Pork Store closing in 2024 after seven decades. Meanwhile, the restaurant Zum Stammtisch's pork store offshoot, open since 2011, shut its doors earlier this year as well. 'It makes me feel terrible, but what can we do?' said Sicilia. 15 A longtime customer named Alberta says goodbye to Turrigiano … Michael McWeeney 15 … and the longtime co-owner accepts her hug as Firrantello looks on. Michael McWeeney 15 Turrigiano who has been at Bari for nearly 40 years, talks with the original owner, John Buttaro (right), who owned Bari Pork Store from 1969 to 1988. Michael McWeeney 'If we don't go back to the old neighborhoods and support these places, what choice do they really have? Many of the younger generations are not following in their parents' and grandparents' footsteps when it comes to pork stores or even old school red sauce joints.' Ray Guarini, who runs the popular Instagram account Italian Enclaves and is author of the book 'New York City's Italian Neighborhoods,' helped announce Bari's closure. At the time, he called it 'the hardest video in our many years of documenting Italian neighborhoods and businesses.' 'The area changed so drastically, we just can't keep up anymore,' said Turrigiano in a video. Noted one commenter of many who bemoaned the loss: 'This is heartbreaking, I will always remember going here with my dad.' 'A lot of people have expressed their sadness about it, and I'm saddened myself,' Guarini told The Post. 15 Firrantello and Turrigiano work side-by-side to make sausage. Michael McWeeney 'But I admire them. What they have done all of these years by preserving the business as a living piece of our culture is commendable.' However, don't expect much fanfare when Firrantello locks Bari's door for the last time: He has no big plans for the final day. 'Hopefully it goes fast, and then I just wanna walk away and take a nice picture outside with my partner,' he said. 'Then Monday, I'm probably gonna stay home with my wife and enjoy a couple of weeks with her. And then go look for a job.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Beloved Local Italian Store is Closing After Five Decades
The difficulties stores and businesses face each year are tremendous, and one popular and long-standing business in New York is the latest to announce that it will be closing. The Bari Pork Store in Bensonhurst, which has stood in its location since 1969, will officially be closing its doors. The store was operated by Tony Turrigiano and George Firrantello, who say that they've enjoyed the service they've provided for the public. "I loved what I do. And he loves what he does. That's why he's still working," Firrantello said. Turrigiano said that he's been involved with the store in some capacity for the last 60 years. Firrantello and Turrigiano specialized in Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese, items they learned to make when they were teenagers. The two were in partnership for nearly 30 years at the Bari Pork Store, but they simply cannot afford to remain open amid rising costs. "Let's put it this way - our people who eat this food are not around. They moved out of the neighborhood," Turrigiano said, likely a comment of the amount of gentrification that's taken place in New York - especially in Brooklyn where the store was located. Turrigiano noted that his family came to Brooklyn from Italy when he was only nine years old, and he's seen the borough and the entire city change drastically during that time. Customers told ABC 7 New York that they were sad to see the store go, mostly due to the staple it has become to the community during its lifespan. "Twenty-eight years I've been coming here. This is like a family," one man said. "It takes away a little bit of its soul. Authenticity," one woman said. "It's like my kitchen - it's an extension of my kitchen." Another customer described the store and the items on offer as "a taste of a land far away that I've never been to." The store is set to officially close on June 30, giving customers the remainder of the month to make their visits and say their goodbyes to one of the most recognizable staples of their community. Beloved Local Italian Store is Closing After Five Decades first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 9, 2025
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rising costs and inflation force closure of beloved Bensonhurst deli
BENSONHURST, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A beloved Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, institution is preparing to say goodbye after decades of serving its community. The Bari Pork Store, a cherished family-run deli at the corner of 18th Avenue and 64th Street, will close its doors for good later this month, marking the end of an era for Italian meats and home-style dishes in Brooklyn. More Local News PIX11's Cory McGinnis spoke with co-owner Anthony Turrigiano, who reflected on the difficult choice to shut down the shop. 'Everything is going up, it's going up like crazy, and every time we order something, it goes up,' Turrigiano said, pointing to rising costs and inflation as key factors behind the closure. On Tuesday, he was in the back of the store, grinding sausage for one of the final times, a reminder of the traditions that have defined Bari Pork Store for nearly four decades. 'More bills than what we're taking home and we can't continue like this—it's impossible,' Turrigiano added. A sign posted at the shop's entrance echoed these sentiments, citing a steady drop in customers, inflation, and increasing product prices as reasons for the closure. For years, residents have relied on the store for its quality meats and sense of community. 'They will be missed because they cater plenty of parties, they provide the families with healthy, nutritious things,' one local said. Another added, 'My husband mostly shopped in there, and good food. It's sad they're going out, the neighborhood is changing.' More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State The story of Bari Pork Store mirrors a broader trend in Bensonhurst. According to the 2023 Bensonhurst Commercial District Needs Assessment Report, 38% of local merchants reported a decrease in business over the past year, while only 19% saw improvement and 26% remained steady. For now, Turrigiano and his family continue to serve loyal customers as they prepare to say goodbye on June 30th. 'We're doing half-day business, and that's not good at all,' Turrigiano said. Click here for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
