“We had the first foodies in Rhode Island!” Henry Caniglia said, as he was giving a tour through his unique and venerable gourmet-food emporium Chef-a-Roni in East Greenwich.
Back in 1967, the food-awareness movement in this country was in its infancy. Dave’s Marketplace was two years away from opening its first fruit and vegetable market. Alice Waters was just beginning something called “farm-to-table,” way out in Berkeley, Calif. Emeril Lagasse was still learning and eating his mother’s cooking in Fall River. Pot au Feu in Providence would not open for another five years, Al Forno for 13. The Food Network was nearly 20 years away.
So, if someone with a sophisticated palate was shopping for black truffles, French mustard or Irish cheese in Rhode Island, the pickings were slim, if available at all, the exception being Italian specialties that could be found in the markets on Federal Hill. Local gourmets had to send to New York or wait for delivery from Boston when the specialty house S.S. Pierce sent its truck.
Henry Caniglia was in the food-service business, his father having been proprietor of a popular spot on Route 2 in East Greenwich known as The Cottage, which was the place to be in the ’50s and ’60s. The bill of fare was not exactly gourmet – hot dogs, burgers, pasta – but the restaurant was in an excellent location on what was then the main north-south thruway in the state.
Caniglia was on his own food journey, marketing his family’s restaurant pasta sauce, which was named Chef-a-Roni. The sauce was on supermarket shelves from Maine to Florida in those days, including Almacs, First National Stores, Big G, A & P, among many others.
At the same time, there was an awareness taking place that customers wanted more upscale, specialty food items. A & P started a section in each of their stores – thousands in total – of Italian sauces, cheeses and specialty items such as pignoli nuts. The giant chain asked Caniglia to oversee the venture. He saw an opportunity to have a standalone store modeled after the supermarkets with aisles, plenty of parking and a wide selection of gourmet foods from many different countries. The Cottage location would be ideal. The timing was right, as Caniglia’s father was ready to turn things over to him and the ’50s-style drive-in was giving way to the golden arches of the next generation.
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PACKAGING: Archival and current packaging for the Caniglia family’s Chef-a-Roni restaurant pasta sauce. / PBN PHOTO/BRUCE NEWBURY[/caption]
The shop quietly became an institution years before the food boom. Caniglia credits a couple of influences – Julia Child, who he gives all credit for raising awareness of French cooking, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who he says was responsible for the popularity of polenta.
Today, the cozy shop on South County Trail is still bustling with carefully curated main ingredients, garnishes, prepared meats, cheeses of the world and thousands more items, all sourced by Caniglia and son Stephen, who represents the third generation of the family. It is still the place to find glogg – the Scandinavian holiday punch, and Marmite – the British spread that is definitely an acquired taste, as well as pates, caviar and genuine extra-virgin olive oil, complete with a story from Caniglia. And yes, the Chef-a-Roni pasta sauce the business was founded on is there, made on the premises, as is real egg pasta and other prepared food items. Today’s foodies are still flocking there.
Bruce Newbury’s Dining Out radio talk show is heard Saturdays at 11 a.m. on 1540 AM WADK and through the TuneIn mobile app. Email Bruce at Bruce@brucenewbury.com.
