Courtesy Old World Gourment Market
By Susan Elise Campbell
A specialty grocery store such as Saratoga has never seen is soon to open at 3078 Route 50 in Wilton. According to owners John and Maria Biagini, the magnitude of the space, the wide variety of fresh foods and in-house dishes prepared, the volume of local and imported products in stock, plus authentic Brooklyn bagels, make this market unique.
The Biaginis designed their newest venture in the style of the markets that dot New York City with flavors from around the world. This is the food to which they have long been accustomed. Maria lived in Brooklyn all her life and was a school teacher by profession. John was always in the food business, and the couple spent summers in Saratoga before joining other downstaters who now call this community home.
“We always said that if we ever decide to leave Brooklyn, this would be our place to live,” said Maria. “But when we moved into our new house, we didn’t think we would open this market within only a year and a half.”
The catalyst? They missed the food in the city, and traveling to pick up their favorite bagels and ethnic dishes to put it in their freezer “was getting to be a little too much,” she said.
“I’ve opened plenty of stores and we always felt a store like Old World Gourmet was needed here and would do well,” John said. “It’s a total different concept.”
Before COVID hit, Biagini had leased space in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island intending to open a number of specialty stores in those competitive markets, he said.
“The pandemic stopped us dead in our tracks and we thought, this was not meant to be. Let’s move on,” he said.
Biagini said the couple did not come here with the intention of starting a store, but “to relax for a while,” having been in the food business “a long time and watching how the industry has changed price-wise, quality-wise and service-wise.”
“What we want to do is bring that quality back with exceptional food and service,” he said.
The concept is, there is one way in, one way out, and the customer strolls through experiencing the décor and aromas of New York City’s neighborhood markets. These are time-tested Italian, Greek, Spanish, Asian and other recipes from Europe, Asia and Africa, cooked by a team of specialty chefs.
“We have a French chef, a Mexican chef, an American chef, and then we have me,” said Biagini.
“You walk in and there is a full line of fresh poultry, then a full line of fresh meats, and then fresh fish,” said Biagini. “Then there are counters with breads made in Brooklyn and our 12 kinds of old-fashioned salads, which are total service, not a salad bar where you serve yourself.”
Next is 24 feet of prepared foods, such as store-made ravioli, stuffed pork chops, and their own sauces, plus pizza and Mediterranean gyros. Another 18 feet of hot foods, a produce case, dairy case, and frozen foods are displayed. All the fresh foods are packaged for take out to cook, reheat or freeze at home.
“We sell our own prepared food that is put in our freezer if it doesn’t sell cooked within two or three days,” he said. “We also put together homemade main courses with side dishes, like Swanson did with frozen TV dinners in the old days.”
Finally, the grocery section has a “huge variety of foods that people could not find up here” were it not for Old World Gourmet, said Biagini. “Other stores have these items but you may have to go to Schenectady or Albany to find them.”
But one thing that can’t be found elsewhere locally is an authentic Brooklyn kettle bagel.
This unique store has their dough made in Brooklyn, par-cooked and shipped up to the market to be boiled and served fresh.
“The best bagels are boiled, not steamed,” John said. “Our bagels and our pizza dough are made with Brooklyn water, which tastes great. Without Brooklyn water, it’s just not the same.”
Like their Saratoga residence, the market was designed by the Biaginis and Maria’s mother. Some of their design decisions include classic white subway wall tile, black grate ceilings, track and recessed lighting, brick bases underneath stainless display cases, and gray ceramic tile flooring. John is also a builder, and he is doing the renovation and construction.
Old World Gourmet Market targets “people that appreciate good food and good service,” he said. “We are not directed just to the high end or the low end.”
For the Biaginis, good service means “you can get a butcher to take you to the produce department if you need help.”
Opening was slated for mid-May, but materials deliveries were delayed, as with so many post-pandemic projects. But then, were it not for COVID, the Biaginis would still be in Brooklyn.
“A first impression is everlasting, so we want to take our time to staff up and do it right,” said John.
Once the market is launched June 11 following the Belmont Stakes, they will offer catering services for groups of five to five hundred, he said, which is just right for company parties or any kind of event. Maria is working on their 32-page catering menu.
The couple has also leased space at 514 Broadway in Saratoga Springs for a small satellite market opening about two weeks later, she said.
“We will do the cooking in the big store and deliver food to Broadway,” she said.
Like the big store, there will be take-out only and no seating. But unlike it, Maria said they may sell coffee to sip with a bagel.
Watch for details about a June soft opening with the public and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.