Business Beat

The following article was provided by Pan American Bank & Trust. At a time when many community banks have been forced to merge or be acquired, Pan American Bank & Trust has emerged as a true story of tenacity and dedication. By putting their clients, communities, and employees at the heart of what they do, bank leadership has charted a course toward long-term independence and success. Pan American Bank & Trust has always embodied the true meaning of business and community banking. “We’re living proof that, with hard work, a clear vision, and solid ethics, anything is possible,” says bank …

Not long after moving from Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood to Portage Park in the Far Northwest Side of the city in 2007, Joe and Melissa Basilone found themselves constantly returning to their old neighborhood for things to do. “We didn’t realize when we moved that there was nothing to do. The neighborhood has beautiful homes and is a great area, but there was nothing to do,” Basilone said. “We always found ourselves getting in the car and driving to our old neighborhood. Finally, I said ‘There is something wrong with this.’ It took us a few years to realize that …

  Ivana Di Piero Hair Studio in Norridge recently celebrated a quarter century of making life more beautiful for customers and community alike. Born in Italy and a resident of the Chicago area since the age of 2, Di Piero was raised in Norridge since the age of 9. She graduated from John V. Leigh School and Ridgewood High School, where she took the cosmetology class that launched her career. Di Piero opened for business on Aug. 21, 1991, thanks to her husband, Frank, who came home with the lease and said, “Here’s your shop.” The couple bought the property …

It’s been more than a century and countless pies since Raffaele Esposito popularized pizza as we know it today in 1889. His pizzeria is still open in Naples. And Gianni Gallucci, owner of the Chicago area’s Zero Ottantuno Mobile Pizzeria Napoletana, has worked hard to master that region’s style. “I’ve been making pizza professionally for more 10 years now and suddenly decided to do the unthinkable: I went back to school,” Gallucci says. In 2013, he attended the Academy of Pizza, a school hosted by the Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani, and earned his APN certification: as in, really earned it. “Everyday …

You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted true Mozzarella di Bufala. Just ask Lara Postiglione. “This isn’t your garden variety mozzarella,” she asserts. “It’s a protected trade name in Italy that applies only to cheese made from the milk of water buffaloes raised in the Campania and Lazio regions of Italy and produced to very exacting standards.” Lara first experienced this sublime dairy product while teaching English as a second language in the Port of Naples. It was a life-changing experience. “It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted,” she recalls with unabated delight. “I was absolutely crazy about …

In business, when time-honored traditions blend with new technologies, innovative products and fresh ideas, consumers win and companies thrive. That’s the secret behind the success of Volpi Foods Inc., which has dramatically modernized its processes and diversified its offerings while staying true to the values that have sustained it for more than a century. Established in St. Louis in 1902, Volpi is now headed by Lorenza Pasetti, great-niece of company founder Giovanni Volpi and the third generation of her family to produce authentic Italian meat products from distinctive Old World recipes. “Like my father and great uncles before me, I …

  Frankie’s Deli has had a lot to celebrate lately. The venerable Italian food emporium marked its 50th anniversary with a five-day culinary extravaganza in late November that culminated in a visit from Italian Senator Renato Turano. “My family has been doing business with Turano Baking Co. for half a century and it was important for us to make them a part of our celebration,” says Frank Conforti Jr., son of company founders Frank Sr. and Connie. “We were truly honored that Senator Turano flew all the way in from Italy to join us!” As icing on the birthday cake, …

by Tina Valentino West suburban pizza-making maestro Jack Curatolo earned top honors at a competition hosted by the St. John Vianney Knights of Columbus Cardinal Cody Council #8070 in Northlake. When Grand Knight John Ainsworth put out the call for local pizzerias to duke it out at a best pizza competition in January, 17 well-known parlor’s rose to the challenge. A fundraiser with serious bragging rights for the winner, the competition was judged by Northlake Mayor Jeff Sherwin, Police Chief Robert Crawford and Cuomo Catering owner Tom Cuomo. Nearly 100 guests paid a nominal fee to get in on the …

The steady growth of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets is a success story that every Italian American can be proud of. Launched in 1958 as a bustling produce emporium at the corner of Harlem and Wrightwood in Elmwood Park, the enterprise has blossomed over the decades into a mini-empire that extends across the Chicago area. Full-service grocery stores in Addison, Bloomingdale, Downers Grove, Elmwood Park, Hanover Park, Naperville/Plainfield and South Elgin operate in concert with the company’s expansive new warehouse, production facility and corporate headquarters in Carol Stream. Nestled next door is the crown jewel of the company’s retail domain: a …

Driving down North Avenue through Carol Stream, you can’t help but notice the new corporate headquarters of Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets. Dazzling white, with a few well-chosen details, its ultramodern facade stretches for nearly a quarter of a mile west of Schmale Road. That positive impression is reinforced in the soaring two-story lobby with its curving staircase and earth-tone walls accented with contemporary renderings of Corinthian columns. And there are homey touches, too: family photos of founders Angelo and Romana Caputo from the 1950s, a colorful cornucopia enshrined on a table that echoes the company logo, and the heady aroma …