Alessi Bakery to move after 5 decades in same building: ‘It’s bittersweet’
TAMPA, Fla. - The owners of Alessi Bakery, which has been a staple in Tampa for more than a century, are moving to a new location, but plan to bring with them the same delicious food and lasting memories.
The Alessi family launched the restaurant in 1912 and has been located at its store on West Cypress Street for 52 years, where it's become known for specialties including cakes, pastries, Cuban sandwiches and scachatta pizza.
"We share a nice reputation with the community. We're always community friendly. We have our regulars that come in all the time that we know by name," said Phil Alessi, whose business has been owned by four generations of his family.
The bakery has been passed down in the Alessi family for generations.
The store is now moving about a block and a half away, to the Tampa Letter Carriers building. Alessi said the current location, which had been pieced together throughout the decades, has outgrown its home.
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The new building will provide Alessi's with a fresh start.
After 52 years in the same location, Alessi Bakery is moving into the old Letter Carriers building down the street.
"The building we're going to be going to, it's an open shell, so now we can create the flow. We can create the ambiance as far as how we do food and how we present it," he said, adding there will also be some exciting new additions. "We're going to do a rotisserie chicken; stone oven pizzas and we're going to have full liquor bar."
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The plan is to open the new location in December.
Women look at the dessert case at Alessi Bakery.
"It's a bittersweet leaving this building and this facility has a lot of fond memories since I was six years old," he told FOX 13.
Alessi owns the city block where the business is currently located. He plans to sell it to a developer whose plans best fit the neighborhood's needs.
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