Owner of Italian deli near Schaumburg learned to cook from scratch from grandparents
Fino D'Agostaro is proud to say that his Italian deli and catering business just outside Schaumburg is old school, in the best sense of the word.
In fact, there should be more eateries like his, he says: family owned, dedicated to making things from scratch, and full of heart.
“These places have gone away because the grocery stores have taken over and they ruined it. They ruined the homemade,” he said. “To call something homemade, you have to make it.”
Finuccio and Sons Italian Deli and Catering opened in January 2020 at 1612 E. Algonquin Road, in unincorporated Cook County. After surviving the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deli is slated to expand with a grocery store offering specialty Italian foods, beer and wine.
Finuccio and Sons' made-from-scratch menu includes daily baked bread, sausage, meatballs, Sicilian cannoli, tiramisu, pasta, seasoned mashed olives, chickpea salad and more. The paninis — two of them named after D'Agostaro's teenage sons, Luigi and Nino, short for Antonino — feature cured Italian meats such as soppressata, salami and prosciutto. The catering menu includes baked rigatoni, manicotti, salads and sandwich trays.
Meatballs are the biggest seller, with sales of up to 600 per week, D'Agostaro said. They are made with Angus ground chuck beef, fresh parsley, Romano cheese, eggs and bread crumbs, the way he made them growing up, he explained. “They are a pain. They are made with love, but sometimes they are made with swearing,” he said, laughing.
D'Agostaro grew up in Palos Park and moved to Palatine in 2003. His father owned the now-closed Jaguar dealership in town, where D'Agostaro worked for about 20 years doing everything from washing cars to helping manage the business.
When the dealership closed in 2017, D'Agostaro had to find a new path for himself. “I was in my 40s and I had to decide what to do.”
His goal became to open an Italian deli and grocery store, drawing from a lifetime in the kitchen alongside family.
D'Agostaro said he learned traditional recipes from his maternal grandparents. He was especially attached to his maternal grandfather, who taught him to make homemade sausage using homemade wine, a recipe D'Agostaro now uses at the deli. “We were very close. We did everything together.”
Before opening his business, D'Agostaro tested its viability by offering catering from his Palatine home. The whole family — including his wife Stacy and their sons — got to work to prep and cook the catered dishes, which quickly became a hit, he said. It was a rewarding time, but also hectic and exhausting for everyone, he said.
“My wife was integral. I couldn't have done it without them (Stacy and the boys),” he said, adding his parents also were supportive.
The deli is in the corner of a strip mall building owned by D'Agostaro's father. The area typically attracts a lunch crowd, but the bulk of the deli's business consists of catering up to 25 events per month.
The biggest order so far was a business dinner for about 350 people, for which the D'Agostaros enrolled the help of their respective mothers. “It was an assembly line,” D'Agostaro joked.
Stacy D'Agostaro has been working at the deli since it opened, which had not been the plan. But the financial constraints of the pandemic have made hiring permanent staff impossible so far, the couple explained. They credited their strong relationship for making it work.
“We do a lot of laughing,” Stacy D'Agostaro said.
Shortly after, the 1977 song “Ti Amo” by Italian singer Umberto Tozzi started playing on the speakers. It's the couple's wedding song, and it's always on the daily playlist at Finuccio and Sons.