Video: Stella Marie’s Italian Market & Deli opens in Cape Coral
The deli — which offers made-to-order sandwiches, prepared foods, and imported groceries — took over My Sweet Art’s space on Nicholas Parkway
Bianca Bertolino opened Stella Marie’s, an Italian market and deli, in northwest Cape Coral in late October.It’s named in honor of her grandmothers, whose family recipes play a role at the shop.The deli offers made-to-order sandwiches, prepared foods, and imported groceries, with plans to expand its offerings based on customer requests.
For Bianca Bertolino, it’s all about family.
Take her new Italian market & deli she opened in northwest Cape Coral in late October, for example.
Stella Marie’s, in My Sweet Art’s old spot on Nicholas Parkway, is named after her grandmothers.
“They were the ones who taught me everything,” Bertolino said. “They just cooked for family, but they could cook for an army. A lot of my recipes are their recipes.”
And her small but mighty shop is full of homemade goodness.
Step inside the cozy corner unit of the ACE Hardware-anchored Nicholas Retail Center and you’ll find a variety of made-to-order sandwiches, fresh sliced cold cuts, soup, a small section of baked goods, imported groceries and “my own line of olive oil and vinegars,” coffee, cheeses, meats, prepared foods, salads and more.
“The night before I opened, I was in the back making sauce, meatballs,” said Bertolino, who worked in an Italian market from age 12 to her junior year in college. “My mom said I was in my element here. I said, ‘I’m so happy right now.’ This isn’t a job to me. This is a home. This is exactly what I like to do.”
From Boston to Cape Coral
Her mom, Lisa Balzotti, is a big reason why the market & deli opened in Cape Coral. Before relocating here, Bertolino had been taking care of her grandmother in Revere, Massachusetts, for seven years.
“After (my grandmother) passed, my mom said to come down and open an Italian market in Cape Coral,” Bertolino said. “She lives in southwest Cape Coral and has been trying to get me to come down here for years and years. We were on the phone one Sunday, talking about it for three hours. Just throwing out stuff about how to do it, what I would have.”
But Bertolino was moving to Maine, where she could continue to work remotely.
“I went to work the next day (after our conversation), and got laid off,” she said. “I went home, called my mom and said, ‘Guess who’s coming to Florida?’”
Bertolino and her husband, Peter Fedders, started looking for a place for her business a few months before moving down on Dec. 1, 2024.
“We looked in Cape Coral only,” she said. “We had a hard time finding a space that had a kitchen.”
So when the 7-year-old French restaurant My Sweet Art on Nicholas Parkway closed on March 8, Bertolino “jumped at it the second it landed on the market.”
“This area is growing,” she said. “Tons of traffic pass through here. So I signed on April 1. We did full renovations up front and had a soft opening on Oct. 18.”
‘It’s the little things’
The walls are covered with old family photos of her grandparents and great-grandparents.
“I had a vision when I got this place,” Bertolino said. “To have it just like this. I want people to know who owns this. This is my family, the people who raised me. I want customers to get a glimpse of that. Every Sunday, we would gather for big meals. Those meatballs, that sauce is all here now.”
She estimates making 20 quarts of marinara sauce three to four times a week.
“We sell a lot of eggplant and chicken parmesan,” said Bertolino, who gladly works seven days a week. “A lot of the prepared foods. It’s the same recipes I use at my house. I think it’s great. The meatballs are the same I make at home. This is my home too.”
And customers have been eating it up.
They start coming for the breakfast sandwiches — bacon or ham, egg and cheese on Kaiser rolls with poppy seeds.
“They are a huge hit,” Bertolino said. “They love the Kaiser rolls. New Yorkers get it with salt, pepper and ketchup.”
For lunch, the Italian, Stella Marie and chicken parm subs are the top three.
“My favorite is the Stella Marie,” Bertolino said. “And it’s one of the most popular. Fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil, prosciutto, chicken cutlet, olive oil and a balsamic glaze.”
More than a dozen signature sandwiches (served on NY-NJ hero or sesame semolina bread) are available, along with several hot and cold subs.
Antipasto and caprese salads, freshly made potato salad and banana pudding are also best-sellers.
“It’s all homemade,” Bertolino said. “It’s the little things that set us apart from everyone else. The pickles are shipped in from New England and the steak tips come from Boston.”
More coming soon
The small market is about to grow too.
“There’s not a lot on the shelves now because we wanted to wait and see what people want,” she said. “I want to know what you want. The grocery section is about to expand.”
While most orders are to-go, there are two tables outside for those wanting to eat there.
And if you’re lucky, you may even see Lisa helping out.
“I have her on the register,” Bertolino said of her mom. “Not in the kitchen. That’s my thing. Everything revolves around food and family.”
Stella Marie’s Italian Market & Deli, 290 Nicholas Parkway, Suite 22, Cape Coral; (239) 242-0137; stellamaries.com or find on Facebook
Robyn George is a food and dining reporter for The News-Press. Connect at rhgeorge@fortmyer.gannett.com
Dining and Cooking