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Page Contents:
-Fante's History
-Some of Our Friends
-Reviews of Fante's
Related Pages:
-Fantes.com Main Page
Thank you for visiting us today.
Who we are...
Fante's is a family business, located in the heart of Philadelphia's
historic Italian Market since 1906.
What we do...
We specialize in utensils for the kitchen, and feature on this web site
select products from our inventory that may not readily be available
elsewhere. Our Philadelphia store includes a full selection of cookware,
cutlery and thousands more products.
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SINCE 1906
HISTORY OF FANTE'S
Fante's was founded in January 1906, by the immigrants Domenico Fante and
his son, Luigi L. Fante, Sr. The entire family was devoted to the business,
which was located, as it still is, in Philadelphia's historic Italian
Market.
Luigi took charge of the business after Domenico's death. Luigi was a
dutiful member of the community, and fought hard for human rights for the
underprivileged in the neighborhood.
Luigi and Carmela with their children
Rose, Teresa, Frank, Dominic, Josephine
1912
When Luigi passed away, early in the life of the business, it was passed
on to his wife and his sons (Dominic, Frank and Louis). Dominic took on his
father's role and became very vocal in the neighborhood, much to the
community's benefit.
Fante's delivery cart
Little Dominic is seated in the cart
Together with their sisters (Rose, Josephine and Theresa), and their
spouses, they strived to keep the business prospering by constantly varying
it to meet the changing demand for products and services. They made venetian
blinds, installed entire kitchens, sold furnishings, imported china, crystal
and other goods from Europe, and became a very respected business.
Looking toward Fante's from 9th & Carpenter Sts.
1925
During the second World War, when goods for resale were hard to come by,
they purchased from distressed businesses, repaired and resold them. The
addition of a plethora of items for the kitchen made Fante's famous as a
popular stop for these goods.
One of the family members, Jeanne Fante, brought back the expertise and
goods from France, England and Australia that made Fante's the only place in
the area, and probably in the entire country, where pastry chefs could
readily obtain equipment for decorating cakes. Courses offered in the art of
cake decorating to chefs and restaurateurs became very fashionable.
Boy Scout Troop 363 - Dom Fante, Scoutmaster (2nd from left)
Early 1940's
In the early 1960's, Fante's mail order catalog contained a wealth of
hard to find goods and was successfully sought after by people throughout
the country. Many articles were written about the unusual kitchen goods that
could be found there, and Fante's became a mecca for chefs and cooks from
around the world.
In April 1981, the Fante family retired and Mariella Giovannucci, then
General Manager of the store, took over the business as President, having
worked with the family for over a decade. The families became acquainted in
the mid 1960's, when the Giovannucci family arrived in Philadelphia from
northern Italy. Dominic Fante and his family helped to relieve the culture
shock and even employed Mariella and her siblings after school..
Under the guidance of the Giovannucci family, Fante's direction became
even more focused on goods for the preparation and service of food, while
carrying on the tradition of the Fante family, in providing quality kitchen
wares and excellence in service.
A renowned Philadelphia tradition, Fante's is nationally acknowledged as
one of the finest in the housewares industry. Over the years, Fante's has
received, and continues to receive, recognition from countless newspaper and
magazine articles, and on television and radio.
Famous chefs and cookbook writers make it a point to stop at the original
Italian Market store when in Philadelphia, and you'll find Fante's listed as
a resource in many of their books.
We are proud to serve our clients in the Philadelphia area and throughout
the United States.
Independent sites that rate Fante's, mostly by what our customers think
of us:
www.yelp.com
www.insiderpages.com
www.igougo.com
philadelphia.citysearch.com
www.openlist.com
www.kaboodle.com
www.fodors.com
travel.yahoo.com
local.infospace.com |
