Caputo's offers 'food experience' with renovated Addison store

A remodeling and expansion project gave way Friday to a fresh look for the Angelo Caputo's Fresh Markets store in Addison.

The store, CEO Robertino Presta says, has evolved to feature a Lavazza coffee bar also serving gelato, an expanded international deli, a dedicated space for a spread of cheeses and olives, a large selection of freshly prepared grab-and-go meals, an in-store restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, and Bar Angelo, which serves Italian and American cocktails, beers and wines.

"You evolve with the times," Presta said. "A grocery store is more of a food experience than just a place to go pick up food."

The facelift comes 28 years after Caputo's opened its Addison store as the second location of a family food market established in 1958 in Elmwood Park. It's an update to the space at 510 W. Lake St. where the Addison location moved in 2002, and it increases the store's size from 40,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet.

As the grocery industry shifts from a collection of places to pick up home-kitchen staples to a group of stores offering an immersive experience in food itself, Presta said Caputo's is staying true to its classic family recipes.

"All our prepared foods are all-natural, no preservatives - exactly the way it was done by my mother-in-law 50 years ago," said Presta, referring to company founder Angelo Caputo's late wife Romana.

The new-look Addison store offers take-home meals such as lasagna and grilled chicken that busy customers don't have to feel ashamed to serve.

"This is truly artisan foods," Presta said, "exactly the way you would make them."

The updated store also sells specialty items produced at the Caputo's central bakery and commissary to ensure reliable taste and quality.

"No matter where you go buy the sausage, it's going to taste the same with our special recipe," Presta said. "We're really proud of being able to keep it consistent."

The larger store, which celebrated its new amenities with a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting Friday, is staffed by an expanded crew of 125 employees, up from 100 before the renovation, Presta said.

Friday's festivities included serving cake and coffee to customers, offering tastings of wine and menu items from the restaurant - such as shrimp, bruschetta and fried calamari appetizers - and launching a series of special events that will be taking place throughout the next month.

Aside from the original sites in Elmwood Park and Addison, Caputo's has stores in Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Hanover Park, Naperville and South Elgin.