Salvatore Carfagna: Columbus' Fourth-Generation Grocer

Words by Melinda Green / Photography by Ben Callahan / Layout by Tori Smith

Shop. Taste. Learn. “Those are the three words that we like to adhere to,” says Salvatore Carfagna, General Manager of Carfagna's Italian Market.

From its late-1930s origins when Saturnino (“Sam”) Carfagna sold produce and meats to a shop in what is now New Albany, to his small meat market in the Linden area, to Columbus's first proper supermarket on State Route 161, to an international specialty grocery, and finally to an Italian market at Gemini Place, Carfagna's has adapted to generations of change and is steadily growing in its current niche.

Fourth generation Salvatore Carfagna, has been a part of the business since he was “old enough to push a broom.”

“We were in the back room cutting meat at a very young age,” he said. “We are butchers first and foremost.” Although he spent nearly a decade in medical device sales, he — like others in the family — eventually found himself back home at the market and its expansion.

Let's be honest, the Italian foods that we know and love are a small fraction of what [Carfagna's] offers. We provide our customers education and open their minds to stuff they haven't tried,” he continued.

A walk around the grocery section yields such delights as truffle-laced prosciutto, tender Piedmontese beef, fresh burrata, Wagyu beef tallow, and toasted Sicilian pistachio gelato. Meats are all prime and choice grade, cut fresh daily. Many items are prepared in-house, using family recipes posted around the store; there is no “keeping secrets.”

Carfagna's also has a wine club and eight different tasting options daily, selected to be both seasonal and enlightening. Add to that the monthly champagne and caviar tastings, live music, cooking classes for adults and kids, the family restaurant, and a fantastic selection of limoncello and amaro in their OHLQ store. Carfagna's truly has become a destination store.

“We try to bring people the highly sought-after stuff,” Carfagna said. “If we're going to do caviar, we'll bring in the best caviar we can get. We try to carry the best olive oils and balsamic in the city.”

“Not only are you shopping our family business, but you're shopping a community of family and small businesses, both local and international,” he continued. “There are foods I learn about daily, and bringing that education aspect to the forefront makes us unique.”

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