20 TIMES • may 12, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Valentino’s Brings The Best To Ridgewood in Their Own Special Way - While Stocking Shelves Since 1975 One man’s dream of turning his horse-and-carriage fruit stand in Sicily into a customer friendly, full-service mini supermarket has come to fruition at Valentino’s Food Market, which has become a staple of the Ridgewood community over the past 35 years. Co-owner Phil Barone explained how his grandfather Gaetano, who passed away in 1995, came to the United States in the 1970s with just his “luggage full of clothes” in the hope of providing people with quality food products at reasonable prices. The current store, located at 66-64 Fresh Pond Rd., has evolved from a little pizza operation to a grand one stop shop for residents looking to stock up a wide variety of produce, deli products, imported goods, meat items and hot prepared food. Barone, who’s been involved with the family business for the past 20 years, along with his father Philip and brother Gaetano, has seen his market grow with the local population and now caters to multiple ethnic groups. In addition to offering a hard-to find selection of Italian specialties, Valentino’s also sells food items from Poland, Turkey, Romania and a number of Latin American countries. But despite the stores variety of foreign and domestic merchandise, the Barone family is always very careful about not taking profits away from other nearby mom and pop stores. “We have Polish items, but not a lot because we have a number of Polish stores here. We all respect one another and don’t step on each other’s feet. They sell their products and we sell ours”. What Valentino’s knows is fruits and vegetables. The Barones buy directly from Watsonville, Calif., New Jersey and Long Island. They also receive regular deliveries from Georgia and Delaware, not to mention their daily trips to Hunts Point Cooperative Market in the Bronx. In recent years, Valentino’s has gone beyond serving hot prepared meals through its catering department, which delivers hot Italian delicacies to all types of events from weddings to sweet sixteen parties. After 40 years in the business, the Barones know what it takes to not only provide the best food, but also what it means to respect their neighbors by keeping their property clean. Valentino’s also gives back to the community through regular donations to senior centers, neighborhood social clubs, churches, the 104th Precinct and local schools, such as P.S. 88 and I.S. 93. When asked what his family’s secret formula for success is, Phil narrowed it down to being attentive to the needs of his customers. “We’re here every day; it’s not a store where we leave managers to run the place. We open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. If a customer comes in and sees the owner, right away they feel more comfortable. If they tell me they want a certain item, I’ll go get it for them, whether it’s fresh parsley or specialty items” he promised. “quality and price are also important, if you give them that, I don’t think you can fail.” 66-64 Fresh Pond Road, Ridgewood NY 11385 Tel.: 718-386-2907 Fax: 718-386-3194
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