Di Rienzo: A favourite sandwich shop and grocery in Little Italy celebrates 50 years
As Paolo Di Rienzo gently stirs a pot of creamy Alfredo sauce in his busy commercial kitchen, he reflects on his family’s proud legacy.
“It’s going to be fifty years,” he smiles.
For half a century, Di Rienzo Grocery and Deli on Ottawa’s Beech St. in Little Italy has been a capital favourite; an eatery invented to satisfy the appetites of neighbourhood construction workers.
“We opened in 1973 and it was just a grocery store,” says Paolo.
“And then a little bit later, they were building the sewers. They shut Champagne Street. They shut Beech. So, we decided to cook for the workers and that’s how it started.”
Paolo Di Rienzo prepares an order of Fettucine Alfredo in the kitchen of his Little Italy store. (Joel Haslam CTV Ottawa)
Iole Di Rienzo was the family matriarch. She came to Canada with her husband and family in 1967.
Her magic touch for pasta and people was legendary.
“My mother used to get up very early in the morning. She would get stuff ready for my father and then start cooking,” says son, Paolo.
“She was very good to people, very friendly,” says eldest son, Gennaro DiRienzo.
“Everybody was like family to her.”
The late Iole Di Rienzo making homemade pasta. After opening a corner store in Little Italy, she began cooking pasta and making sandwiches for workers doing construction nearby. (Supplied)
Her six children always helped in the store and in the kitchen, serving delicious food to Di Rienzo’s valued customers.
“Lasagna, ravioli, rigatoni, manicotti, cannelloni you name it,” says Paolo.
And along with the sandwiches and hot food, are warm welcomes.
“I think that’s the secret,” says Gennaro.
“If you have a smile on your face, and you welcome people, people will come back.”
And they do.
Line-ups for the deli’s mouth-watering sandwiches are frequently out the door.
Loyal customers line up to order a Di Rienzo sandwich. (Joel Haslam CTV Ottawa)
“Everything is sliced fresh, and we put lots on it,” says Paolo.
“We don’t fool around,” he laughs.
Enzo Solazzo has been coming to DiRienzo since the store opened.
“I’ve had many, many sandwiches. Hundreds of sandwiches here,” he says.
“Once you eat here, there’s no way you’ll go back to anyone else,” he smiles.
“It’s amazing. You can’t go wrong. $8.50 for a sandwich? You can’t get that anywhere,” says Paolo’s nephew, Antonio Di Rienzo.
A Di Rienzo deli sandwich. “Everything is sliced fresh and we put lots on it. We don’t fool around,” says Paolo Di Rienzo. (Joel Haslam CTV Ottawa)
But Paolo Di Rienzo says he’s just running the business as his mother would want him to.
“We work very hard, we give the people what they want, and we’re not too greedy,” he says.
“It’s his baby,” says Carolee Dunn, Paolo’s wife, who sits at a dining room table going through company invoices.
“He works seven days a week, from seven o’clock in the morning until seven o’clock at night,” she says.
“He’s had tremendous support along the way from his family and his friends. They all want to help him because he wants to help them,” she says.
“He’s kind, generous and respects everyone, whether you’re a little kid going to school or a politician sitting in the Parliament buildings. He treats everyone the same.”
“I swear he’s the nicest person I know,” says Paolo’s nephew and store employee Antonio Di Rienzo.
“And he’s such a giver. If someone’s short a dollar, he’s like ‘it’s ok don’t worry get me next time. You go anywhere and no one is going to do that nowadays,” he says.
But Paolo Di Rienzo will.
After all, people have been making memories at his Little Italy shop for 50 years.
“This is probably the place where we stole our first chocolate bar,” says one customer.
“And it’s probably the place where we kissed our first girlfriend on the front steps. It’s an impressive place.”
It’s a taste of life many believe they can only get at Di Rienzo’s
“They just love people,” says Enzo Solazzo.
“And once you come here, you’ll always come back.”
And for their loyalty over 50 years, Paolo and his family say a heartfelt thanks.
“I just have to thank the community for what they’ve given us. Thank you to all the loyal customers. Thank you.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.