HANOVER TWP., Pa. – The owners of a popular Italian restaurant in Hanover Township, Northampton County are planning another delicious venture a few miles south of the dining establishment.
Father and son Giacomo and Phillip Sgroi, native Sicilians who opened Nonna Sulina’s Sicilian Kitchen & Grill in 2020 at 5000 Bath Pike, in November are planning to open Nonna’s Italian Market – offering authentic Italian bread, homemade pasta, pastries and more – at 2112 Schoenersville Road in Hanover Township.
The Schoenersville Road spot previously housed bicycle shops Bike Line and Trek Bicycle.
The Sgrois had long wanted to open an authentic Italian market in the Lehigh Valley, and Giacomo had been eyeing up the vacant strip small spot as a possible location for the past year.
“I started dreaming about it,” Giacomo said of the forthcoming market. “That’s when I knew that I had to make it happen, make the dream come true.”
Nonna Sulina’s Sicilian Kitchen & Grill operates at 5000 Bath Pike in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
Ryan Kneller
Giacomo, who also serves as executive chef at Nonna Sulina’s, grew up in Carini, Sicily, where he spent many days and evenings in the kitchen with his maternal “nonna,” which means grandmother in Italian.
He would also scuba dive for fresh seafood for his father’s coastal restaurant, Trattoria Pescatore.
Coincidentally, Giacomo’s paternal grandmother was also known as Sulina, but his “Nonna Sulina” on his mother’s side is who he credits for instilling in him a love for cooking.
She took him to the family garden to pick fresh figs for fig jam, taught him how to sun-dry tomatoes and made sure that he respected the importance of fresh, high-quality ingredients.
“She had a lot of knowledge in the kitchen, and she had a lot of influence on me,” Giacomo said.
At Nonna’s Italian Market, customers will be able to shop a wide array of Italian-imported items, homemade pastas, fresh gnocchi, authentic Italian bread, espresso, gelato, Italian pastries and more.
The Sgrois are also planning to offer Italian-imported meats and cheeses, olive oils and authentic Italian breakfast items, including bomboloni (stuffed Italian doughnuts) and cornettos (Italian pastries resembling croissants), featuring Nutella, pistachio and other flavors.
“We’ll have some savory croissants as well, but Italian breakfast is generally sweeter than what Americans are used to,” Giacomo said. “The Italian doughnuts are really out of this world. They’re going to blow people’s minds.”
Decorative accents are pictured at the forthcoming Nonna’s Italian Market in Hanover Township, Northampton County.
Ryan Kneller
The Sgrois are in the process of renovating the Schoenersville Road space, which will feature new flooring, coolers, granite countertops and more.
They are still finalizing the market’s hours, but they anticipate operating the store six days a week, opening most days at 8 or 9 a.m. and staying open until 6 p.m., Giacomo said.
Giacomo and Phil are hands-on owners at Nonna Sulina’s, with both taking pleasure in getting to know customers, and the duo plans to continue that practice at the market.
“Thank you for your continued support, because of you all we are able to make this dream possible,” they wrote in an announcement on the business’ website and social media pages.
Pictured is Cappelini Valentina (angel hair pasta with shrimp, scallops and crabmeat in a pink blush sauce), a popular dish at Nonna Sulina’s Italian Kitchen & Grill.
Ryan Kneller
Nonna Sulina’s, which is BYOB, is known for its made-from-scratch, “traditional Sicilian cuisine with an inventive twist.”
Diners can enjoy small plates such as arancini, braciole, goat cheese lamb chops and octopus caponata; pasta dishes (available with choice of stozzapreti, rigatoni, linguini, angel hair, pappardelle, gluten-free pasta or gnocchi) such as pesto, pescatore and wild boar Bolognese; and entrees such as chicken or veal Marsala with mushroom risotto, Nonna’s Ragu (pork braciole, meatball and ribs in a San Marzano tomato sauce, served with strozzapreti pasta) and grilled salmon (with sauteed spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and roasted peppers in a fresh herb glaze).
Specials are also regularly featured, with this past weekend’s offerings including Giacomo’s pappardelle (pappardelle pasta served in a roasted garlic and maple pumpkin butter sauce with chicken), coniglio della casa (slow-cooked, braised rabbit leg served with roasted vegetables over yellow rice in a sherry rabbit au jus) and seafood montalcino (shrimp and scallops sauteed with caramelized onions, pine nuts and raisins, served in a red wine brodotto over couscous), among others.
One of the restaurant’s most popular fall specials has been its butternut squash lasagna (stuffed with roasted butternut squash, feta, Pecorino Romano cheeses, baked and served in a brown butter and sage Grand Marnier liqueur sauce).
“People can’t get enough of it!” Giacomo said of the butternut squash lasagna.
For the latest updates on Nonna’s Italian Market, including an opening announcement, follow Nonna Sulina’s pages on Facebook and Instagram.
Dining and Cooking