Flora Gaspar of DA FLORA in North Beach is opening her new gourmet grocery and wine shop this week, RIALTO MERCATO. (Gaspar’s adoration of Venezia continues with the Rialto name.) As Hoodline originally noted this past summer, she is opening in the former Wing Wah Tailor Co. shop, just a couple of doors down from Da Flora.
Da Flora has been open since 1994, and what you’ll find on the shelves of Rialto Mercato are Flora’s favorite and best ingredients she has found, purchased, and tested over the years, from the common to the elevated. It will be like exploring her pantry and cellar! There are Sicilian jams; honeys, pastas, and olive oils; and canned tomatoes. You’ll find Flora’s Red Fangs paprika (she has to pay homage to her Hungarian roots!), and she is exclusively selling chocolates from Christophe—she tells me he previously sold at Blue Bottle Coffee, and he has made a chocolate with paprika flakes in it for her. There are also wines, spirits, and some holiday items, like panettone and pan d’oro. You can browse some well-selected and unique books, and there’s even some artwork for sale.
She plans to be up and running by Wednesday December 16th or Thursday December 17th, and will be open from 11am-7pm. Over the holidays, she’ll be open until 5pm on Christmas Eve, and then closed until the 27th. So whether you’re looking for a holiday gift, a host/ess gift, or a little treat for yourself (or your pantry), she has you covered. 705 Columbus Ave. at Filbert.
The entrance to Rialto Mercato. Photo courtesy of Rialto Mercato.
