In metro Detroit, a storied Italian bakery rings in a century of business and community service, carving a name for itself in the local annals of family-owned establishments. WXYZ reports that Bommarito Bakery, a staple in the St. Clair Shores area, has been honored with a historic marker, admiring its decades of contributions to the community.
Having opened its doors in 1925 by Jim Bommarito, the bakery was described by current owner Eric Adams, related to Bommarito by marriage, as a bastion of "consistency and family," a theme echoed across ties binding the bakery to its patronage. Celebrating its centennial, the bakery stands on the legacy of introducing Detroit to its first cannoli, with Adams affirming in an interview with WXYZ, "Jim Bommarito is the original one who came to Detroit and did the first cannoli - 1925; nobody else had them before that."
Amidst the competitive pressures from major retailers, Bommarito's granddaughter, Christine Corrado, and her sisters maintain the bakery's edge by sticking to original recipes that have been a crowd favorite for generations. As mentioned in a FOX 2 Detroit piece, the shop remains committed to crafting everything from scratch, attributing its commitment to "hard work" and offering "good value for the money" to its sustained popularity.
The bakery's roots dig deep into metro Detroit's past, with the business having bloomed from a modest starting point. Jim Bommarito's efforts eventually yielded a relocation to Greater Mack Avenue in 1961, a choice fortified by the vision of his son-in-law, Sam Valenti, who predicted St. Clair Shores would be ripe for Italian baked goods. Under the guidance of Sam and his daughters, the bakery broadened its offerings from the original cannoli and pastries to bread, pizza, and subs. Reflecting on her father's impact, "My dad introduced subs and pizzas," and "to try to stay in this business with just cannolis, you just couldn't do it," Christina Corrado relayed to Macomb Daily.
The centennial celebratory mood was fittingly subdued, with an intimate ceremony intended for family and friends hosted to commemorate the unveiling of the historic marker—scheduled for a Monday evening at 6:30 p.m., a day when the bakery stands closed, a tradition dating back to its inception. Emotions welled within the family over this honor, "We are so incredibly honored by this," Corrado expressed during a Macomb Daily conversation, conveying the depth of familial and communal ties entwined with the bakery's long-standing presence.
Averting rumors of looming closure, Adams reassures that the plan remains for the bakery to persist into the hands of the subsequent generations. "Our goal is to have my son and my daughter-in-law and the next generation continue the business. There's a lot of rumors that we're closing. Not going to happen," he steadfastly told WXYZ.
