A taste of Tuscany

WASILLA — The proof is in the pasta — and olive oil, and chocolate — at Anzilotti’s Tuscan Market.

Tucked just off the Palmer-Wasilla Highway across from the Essential One gas station, the Italian market is the brainchild of Jose “Joe” Anzilotti, run by his wife Wendy and four of their seven children. Wendy and daughters Heidi, Emily and Jennifer are the face of the place, slicing deli meat, baking authentic focaccia bread, making pasta by hand and serving customers with Old World charm. Dante, the oldest son, is the shop’s resident IT guy and website creator.

Starting the niche family business in Alaska was no easy task. It required a lot of research and coordination. But Joe’s very recent connection to Italy gave the new generation of Anzilottis a head start.

On the map

Joe’s father was born in the city of Pescia in the Tuscan region of Italy, and after World War II moved to Brazil with his brothers as teenagers. Joe and his cousins were born in Brazil, and immigrated to the U.S., where Joe met Wendy and later entered the military as a physician. The couple was transferred to Alaska in 1996, where one thing quickly became apparent: no Italian markets.

And Joe couldn’t stop thinking about “how neat it would be” to start one.

“I do love business … and I know people really like and appreciate genuine Italian products,” Joe said.

But with four young children at the time, and more on the way, neither Joe nor Wendy were prepared to run a business. In 2009, they were finally able to bring one of Joe’s cousin’s and his family, who were living in Brazil at the time, to Alaska to be the face of the market. The cousin’s family preferred to live in Anchorage, while Joe and Wendy were already living in Wasilla, so the Brazilians became the face of the business.

For a while Joe and Wendy were content to do the bookkeeping behind-the-scenes. But Joe’s relatives had been more enthusiastic about getting out of Brazil than running a business in Alaska, she said, and in 2011 they left the state on short notice. The Alaskan Anzilottis were able to commute to Anchorage for a while, since the children were homeschooled, but it soon became more hassle than it was worth.

In November of 2011, they moved to store to the Valley permanently.

The learning curve

With English-Irish-Scottish heritage and a journalism degree, Wendy wasn’t sure she was well enough equipped prepare and select authentic Italian foods and products.

“When we took over, it was kind of intimidating, because we hadn’t been to Italy,” except to meet an olive oil supplier in 2010, she said.

But Wendy had been making wheat bread regularly at home, and with her faith and nose for news behind her, she began to dig deeper into her husband’s and children’s roots.

One thing she found was that following Italian recipes was easier than she thought.

People tend to think good or fancy-sounding food has to be “super hard to make,” Wendy said, but that’s not always the case.

“If your ingredients are quality, you can make a great dish,” she said.

And quality is ensured, in their case, by purchasing products from the European Union, which does not allow the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), dyes or preservatives.

“The FDA doesn’t check for quality like that,” Wendy said. “They can’t afford to.”

The Anzilottis sometimes wonder if they can afford to either. But ask Wendy or Heidi about olive oil and they’ll explain why its important — they can say more on the spot about the product than most people realize there is to know.

The kids have also buffed up their Italian language skills with the Rosetta Stone language program, but Wendy said pronunciation isn’t as important as non-Italian speakers think.

“There are so many dialects in Italy, you can’t even pronounce it wrong,” she said of their menu items.

‘That corner store’

When more experienced customers come in, the Anzilottis are put to the test.

But time and again, Wendy said, the response has been positive.

“I’ve had people come in and say, ‘oh my gosh, I remember this when I was growing up,’ and to me that is huge, it’s so special,” she said. “We wanna be that corner store.”

Customer interaction at the market has been good for the Anzilotti children, too.

“I think it’s helped us all to be more outgoing,” Heidi said.

“I know I wouldn’t be as good a waitress as I am if I hadn’t started working at the market,” Carolina said.

Jennifer said she’s more interested in missions work than continuing at the market long-term, and Dante has settled into his position as a computer technician, but all the siblings said they’ve loved having the unique opportunity of working with their family members.

“It can be challenging sometimes but it’s a lot of fun,” Emily said.

The Anzilottis also host cooking classes at the shop.

MTA Sports Center Marketing Director Dana Ness, who spent a month in Italy a few years ago, said the classes are one of her favorite things about the market.

“At the end of the night, you’re friends with the guys, you’re friends with the girls…everybody has a good time together,” Ness said.

Learn to make handmade pasta on Sept. 18; focaccia bread on Oct. 16; and an Italian dessert in November. Sign up in-store at 2801 E. Palmer-Wasilla Hwy., or call 357-2868 during business hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or Saturday 10-5.

For more information, visit anzilottistuscanmarket.com.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at caitlin.scvorc@frontiersman.com or 352-2266.