Now, That’s Italian—Georgetti's Thrives in Cinnaminson

Can food for the body also be nourishment for the soul? Step inside , and the answer awaits you.

In this bedroom community, just 10 miles from a major metroplis, fresh food markets are a difficult find. But the Georgetti family has been rolling out extraordinary Italian foods for hungry locals for decades.

In a snug one-story building on Cinnaminson Avenue, chefs bake, broil and fry signature meals. The smell of creamy garlic sauce, thick tomato gravy and simmering soups and stews fill the air. 

Refrigerator cases hold packages of tri-color tortellini, lobster ravioli and vegetable lasagna available for a constant and steady customer base. 

“This time of year, business picks up as the holidays get closer,” said Michael Georgetti, who along with his parents, Angelo and Rita, have been running the market since 1990. 

Easter breads, spinach omelets, and pizzaghene (a traditional meat pie), will stave off starvation as customers celebrate with loved ones during the upcoming season.

“Then, we get busy with events like communions, graduations and showers,” said Georgetti, and then another big rush during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah seasons. 

Georgetti is a long-time resident of Cinnaminson. He is married to Diane and father to three children, ages 17, 16 and 3.

“My mom was pregnant with me when we moved here,” said Georgetti, who turns 50 on April 1.

Although food and restaurant experts for more than 36 years, Georgetti’s parents started out as beauty salon operators.

“My dad ran Beauty by Angelo in Cinnaminson,” Georgetti said.

The elder Georgetti later expanded and opened salons in Collingswood and Moorestown in the '70s.

“But, my dad found out that he was allergic to the chemicals that are used in hair treatments," he said. "So, he had to leave the business.”

Armed with their family recipes, Georgetti’s folks opened a restaurant on Branch Pike in 1980, where is now located.

“It was a trial-and-error approach,” said Georgetti, who had just finished high school and quickly became steeped in the food industry. “I would help out at lunches, and my parents did the dinners.”

The long hours took a toll, so the family left the restaurant. They bought their present building, with the idea of operating an Italian market that would still have available their popular dishes, but in more of a 9-to-5 time frame. 

But there was a strong demand for their succulent foods, and the catering business came pouring in again.

“Even though we close in the evening, I still work nights and most weekends,” Georgetti said. 

The market usually slows down during the summer with people on vacation, Georgetti adds. Yet, there are always food requests for pool parties and barbecues, or people order trays of food to take to beach homes. 

“We make a ton of gazpacho soup in the summer,” he said.

To this day, Georgetti said all of the food is freshly prepared on-site, and new chefs are trained in the Georgetti “school of cooking.”

“When we hire new cooks, they might have been taught another way of making a sauce or soup,” Georgetti said. “But I tell them: ‘You have to learn our way. We do it this way in our kitchen at home, and this is what works for us.’”

Even after all these years, Georgetti said the whole family still enjoys cooking together for a family celebration, each pitching in with a dish.

Maybe Cinnaminson Avenue isn’t Philly’s Italian Market, but a food emporium like Georgetti’s is a delicious contender against its urban peers.

“We love cooking, we love having the market, and we love our customers," Georgetti said.