BENSONHURST, Brooklyn (WABC) — Bari Pork Store has been in the Bensonhurst neighborhood for more than five decades. Once the staple for Italian Americans to get food and goods straight from Italy, the beloved specialty store is closing for good.
The aging storefront weathered every storm — except for the one no one saw coming.
“28 years I’ve been coming here. This is like a family,” said customer Peter Melendez.
It is a piece of Italy that stole a piece of everyone’s heart. Customers came in looking for the perfect cut of meat — but it is emotions that are now raw upon learning that Tony Turrigiano and George Firrantello are closing up shop.
“I loved what I do. And he loves what he does. That’s why he’s still working at 39,” said Firrantello.
“Let’s put it this way — I’ve been on the line for quite a few years and you figure — 60 years,” Turrigiano added.
They prepared fresh-made Italian sausage and mozzarella, a skill that they learned when they were 14 and 15 years old. However, after 26 years in business together at Bari Pork Store, they just can’t afford to stay open.
“Let’s put it this way – our people who eat this food are not around. They moved out of the neighborhood,” says Turrigiano.
Turrigiano’s family moved to Brooklyn from Italy when he was just nine years old. He says back in the 1950s you could find a shop like this on just about any corner in Bensonshurst. Now it has become some sort of a relic in the ever-changing landscape of New York City.
“It takes away a little bit of its soul. Authenticity,” said customer Donna Gifford, “It’s like my kitchen — it’s an extension of my kitchen.”
The old-school Italian deli first opened in 1969.
“A taste of a land far away, you know — that I’ve never been to,” said customer Jeff Katsman.
The closing date is set for June 30.
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