Last updated on May 14th, 2018 at 09:50 am
Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, family owned and operated since 1958, is celebrating 60 years of bringing fresh foods to its customers. What began as an Italian immigrant looking to live out the American dream became the Caputo family business, which now includes seven stores throughout the Chicagoland area.
A factor in the business’ success, according to the company, is its diverse assortment of high-quality, international, traditional, healthy and organic foods, together with hard-to-find specialty items.
Founder Angelo Caputo opened the first market in a 3,100-s.f. storefront in an Elmwood Park neighborhood. He began the Caputo family’s early morning tradition of obtaining fresh produce—some of which comes from as far away as Michigan or Indiana—and offering it on the shelf that same day.
He created the company’s private label, La Bella Romana, which translates to “beautiful Romana” in honor of Angelo’s wife who was an outstanding cook. Her legacy lives on in these products and also in the prepared foods offerings of the Caputo’s stores, where all dishes are made from scratch and without preservatives using old world recipes, the company says.
Other signature offerings of the Caputo’s stores include periodic cooking classes and the annual summertime Battle de Vino contest, where customers can submit their homemade wine for judging. The company also is an active contributor to the Northern Illinois Food Bank, supplying more than a million meals last year.
The seven Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets throughout the Chicago area employ more than 1600 people. Each store features environmentally sustainable facilities.
For contributions to the food industry, Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets was honored by the Illinois Food Retailers Association with its Illinois Food Industry Leadership Award in 2017.
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