European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 23, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Italy americans can Sample a taste of Home in Florence bakery by Deborah Absher staff writer on a difficult to find Side Street in downtown Florence Italy the Sweet taste of Home draws. Americans. Perugina chunk brownies Apple pie devils food cake muffins cupcakes new York style cheesecake and chocolate Chip cookies Are baked and sold fresh daily in a 700-year-old building transformed into Carljoe s an american tradition Italy s first and Only american Baker. The Small bakery at via Delle Brache 12/14r a a Block from Piazza Santa Croce and a Short walk from the uffizi gallery and Ponte Vecchio a was opened in 1989 by two native new yorkers Carmel d Arienzo of Queens and Elizabeth Nicolosi of Long Island. The store name is an acronym from their first names. The bakery reopened in late november after being closed for two months because d Arienzo and Nicolosi have been in new York preparing to open their first stateside bakery. While the shop was shut desperate american students backpackers travellers and expatriates left frantic notes on a Large message pad affixed to the front window Quot i came All the Way Here from Rome. I la be Back in two weeks. You d better be open by and Quot i need chocolate Chip cookies now. How could you do this to us Quot Quot it s very popular among americans Quot said Siva Gherardini who is running the bakery for d Arienzo and Nicolosi for an indefinite period. Such demand Devotion and desire by compatriots for Home Sweet Home is exactly what d Arienzo and Nicolosi had counted on to make a Success of their bakery which looks like a slice of americana with its antique Wood furnishings and a red White and Blue Motif inside the Brick archway of the former Button factory. But getting the business off the ground was t exactly a piece of cake. The Young entrepreneurs dreamed up the idea for an american bakery abroad after meeting in 1982 in Florence during their Junior year in an overseas language program offered by Smith College in Northampton mass. Along with other homesick students they. Experienced pangs of hunger for familiar foods. They returned to College in the states graduated with degrees in italian and business and both moved to new York City continuing their Friendship they shared an apartment while d Arienzo worked in hotel management and Nicolosi worked in marketing for an italian advertising Agency. Their dream percolated from time to time. In 1988, they decided to quit their jobs and moved to Florence to open the bakery even though neither had professional baking experience. The innocents abroad spent the next year wading through government bureaucracy and conquering the difficulties of running a business in a foreign country. The year was t spent totally in red tape. After standing in lines All Day for permits and approvals d Arienzo and Nicolosi would spend their nights experimenting with recipes. Because ingredients in Europe differ from those in the United states the two amps Kathy Platt Siva Gherardini is temporarily managing Carlie s. Spent eight months perfecting their recipes which they keep secret. Although part of the idea behind the bakery was to introduce italians to american culture and homemade foods americans still make up the majority of customers said Gherardini How could anyone not crave fudge brownies or chocolate Chip cookies Quot it s too Sweet for italians and it s too strange Quot Gherardini explained. Quot but italians like the Apple pie. They know Apple pie because we have something similar. The italians say the american Apple pie is she said the italian customers also like the muffins and cupcakes which she describes to them As Picoch Torta Little cake. Because the bakery is off the tourist track it takes its treats beyond the Cobblestone Maze like streets to reach new customers. The bakery supplies cakes muffins and. A amps. Kathy Platt one of the Bakers prepares a devils food cake brownies to several Florence hotels and restaurants. And it offers a fax service so parents in the United states can order birthday cakes gift packs for halloween thanksgiving Christmas Valentine s Day easter t other special packages for their children studying ii Florence. Or in Carlie s an american tradition via Delle Brache 12/14r, 50122 Florence Italy. Telephone 055-215137. If calling from outside Italy dial the appropriate International code followed by 39 55-215137. Carlie s is open from 9 . To 7 . Every Day except tuesday. A menu on a Black chalkboard lists the Day s offer Ings and prices. Some samples Large chocolate Chip cookie 1,200 lire about 75 cents brownies 1,750 lire $1.10 each Corn Apple or Carrot muffins 1,500 lire 95 cents a whole fudge chocolate cake Carrot cake or Apple pie 27,000 lire $17. A Carlius Vul Dole bum guru do us Fioti de Weinber 21, jv9j stripes re a me 3
