CANTON – Canton native Jeff Labowitz calls the purchase of DioGuardi’s Italian Market and Deli simply “right place, right time.”
Nearly 120 years after Antonio DioGuardi first opened the market, today’s DioGuardi’s remains a Canton staple, blending old-world Italian recipes with modern convenience. Under owner Jeff Labowitz, the shop honors its heritage while offering freshly prepared meals, scratch-made pastas, and catering that serves busy families.
A legacy of Italian tradition
In 1906, Antonio DioGuardi immigrated from Greci, Italy and opened DioGuardi’s Italian Foods in Canton with his brother Biagio. They brought with them family recipes and a strong work ethic that carried through generations. Biagio’s wife, Angelina, or “Mama,” joined him in America in 1920.
By 1948, the store settled into its current Market Avenue N location, specializing in homemade Italian sausage and spaghetti sauce with meatballs. The family ran the store until 2015, when they sold to Labowitz.
A lifelong food professional, Labowitz worked as a chef at Giant Eagle, developing its first prepared foods program. He also owned the former dry cleaner-turned-storage-facility adjacent to the market. That space is now DioGuardi’s bustling commercial kitchen.
Carrying on the tradition
Labowitz continues the DioGuardi legacy with an emphasis on quality and consistency. The market offers many modern conveniences − handcrafted sandwiches, prepared meals, specialty grocery items, party trays, catering and delivery through DoorDash or ChowNow.
“We’re obsessed with quality and consistency,” Labowitz said. “We work as one solid team, and the consistency works.”
With 19 employees, including six full-time chefs, the shop turns out scratch-made pastas, meatballs, arancini, salads and Italian baked goods daily. Staff members like Jim Herchenroeder (the fresh pasta maker) and Jill Brozovic (one of the newest prep cooks) share the same passion for food and service.
Service and passion
Walk into DioGuardi’s and you’re greeted by name. Staff members are eager to talk about the “why” behind each dish, whether it’s Italian sausage made from the original family recipe or the buffalo mozzarella.
Stark County native Leasa Craig, who runs the front end and helps manage catering, notes that families come for the foods they’ve grown up with, from lasagna pans to chicken marsala, or just sides to complete a holiday meal. “We’re happy to provide whatever you need to make dinners and hosting more enjoyable.”
Stocking the shelves
Start at the prepared foods case, where you’ll find stuffed peppers, jumbo meatballs, arancini (a popular Sicilian street food made with specialty rice, stuffed with cheese, breaded and fried until golden), and scratch-made pastas ready to take home.
The deli counter offers DioGuardi’s original-recipe Italian sausage (made with anise and extra-lean pork) along with chicken salad prepared from in-house, rotisserie-roasted chicken, a Mediterranean white bean salad, and specialty cured meats like guanciale, an Italian salt-cured meat product prepared from pork jowl or cheeks which isn’t commonly available.
Cheeses are a cornerstone here. Wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano are cut, dried then freshly grated on site. Refrigerated cases are stocked with provolone, burrata and scamorza (a firmer, stringy cheese often used as a mozzarella substitute). The freezer cases hold ravioli, mini-arancini, tiramisu and cannoli.
On the shelves you’ll find dry pastas from Italy in a variety of shapes, regional olive oils and jars of marinated vegetables. For a sweet finish, there are Italian cookies such as pizzelles and biscotti. Imported Italian wines complete the selection, making it easy to pair dinner with a bottle from some of the same regions that inspired the food.
Highlights from our visit
I once again brought my friend Vickie Getz along for a shopping adventure. We both grew up going to specialty markets with our families.
After making our way through the cases and shelves, Getz and I packed our coolers with Italian specialties to enjoy at home. Here’s what came with us:
DioGuardi’s marinara sauce − We will both pair with their sausage and pasta.Freshly-made spaghetti and linguine − Planning on one swirl tossed with olive oil, one frozen for later.Mozzarella, scamorza and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses − For cooking, salads, snacking and tossing.Meatballs, arancini and stuffed pepper − Meatballs for a sub sandwich; arancini and stuffed pepper for dinners.Mild Italian sausage, chicken salad and Mediterranean white bean salad from the deli − Don’t miss any of these. (And no, the small container of chicken salad and white bean salad is not enough.)Ciabatta bread – Perfect for meals and lunches.Sicilian olive oil – A nod to my dad and my Sicilian heritage; bold and flavorful, it’s a drizzling and tossing oil. Don’t waste it for cooking.Jarred artichokes – For cocktail hour or quick dishes.Pasta fagiole soup mix – For an easy weeknight soup.Italian dried pastas – Assorted shapes for soups, sauces, butter, whatever.Cookies – Palmiers, and biscotti with cranberry and almond to enjoy with coffee or tea.Mushroom ravioli – Frozen and hearty enough for several meals.Mini arancini balls – Frozen, perfect for appetizers.
Bev Shaffer, Food & Drink reporter for The Canton Repository, can be reached at bshaffer@gannett.com or 330-580-8318.
If you go
What: DioGuardi’s Italian Market and Deli
Where: 3116 Market Ave. N, Canton
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday
Phone: 330-492-3777
Dining and Cooking