Along Burke Avenue in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx is a 4th generation bakery that has roots in Santa Caterina, Sicily. “My great-grandfather Calogero made loaves of pane di casa in his home there and sold it to the people of the town,” says Joseph Nicosia who runs the 35-employee Nicosia’s Original Bronx Bread Co along with brother Charles Jr. The original Nicosia’s was solely retail, opened by Joseph’s grandparents in 1925 and then run by his father starting in 1981. Wholesale operations began in the late 1960s.
As a young man entering the work world in the late 90s, Nicosia did help his father driving routes part-time but his main job was a stockbroker. “I didn't want to get involved in the bakery at first,” says Nicosia. “That changed when I starting doing some actual baking. Manipulating dough and flour, scaling and proofing it and the way you could affect the presentation and color. I developed a passion for it and also saw potential to grow the business.” By 2003, Nicosia left Wall Street and was full-time at the bakery, overseeing the production of everything from dinner rolls, focaccia, and heroes to baguettes, panini, and brioche hamburger buns.
He closed the retail store four years ago (“the neighborhood changed over the years so our base customers weren’t there any longer,” explains Nicosia), but many of those customers moved north so they can yet get their crusty Italian bread fix at delis, markets, and restaurants around Westchester. La Manda’s in White Plains uses the seeded Italian bastone and French baguette; Westchester Burger Co, with multiple county locations, a custom brioche bun; Candlelight Inn, the Kaiser role, seeded bastone, and Italian hero. DeCicco’s is the bakery’s biggest client.
Source: To read the rest of the story, please go to: Westchester Magazine
