Grispino Family
by Diana Cercone
Family dinner—If you think that’s a fading memory in Bucks County then you haven’t met Mike and Franca Grispino. You probably know them better as the Altomonte family, owners of the popular Altomonte’s Italian Market & Delicatessen stores in Warminster and Doylestown. In 1982, when thinking of a name for their market (at the time located on the corner of County Line and York roads), Mike and Franca forwent the eponymous route and opted instead to honor their hometown of Altomonte in the Cosenza province of Calabria.
That simple action speaks volumes about the importance of family or “famiglia” to them. And the quality meats, pastas, imported Italian products, cheeses and housemade food and baked goods Mike and Franca sell speaks volumes on the value they place on family dinner.
Family dinner, though, isn’t just about food. It’s about connecting and relating to those sitting around the table. It’s where family stories are told, family traits revealed. And, maybe, you find out you’re just like your Great Aunt Tillie, a suffragette and a heartbreaker. Or like your grandfather, known for making the best barbecue ribs in the family. Even long-held secrets—like who really wrecked Uncle Billy’s Corvette that summer night so long ago—come out for an airing.
Still, let’s be honest. It’s the food that keeps everyone coming back to the table. In my own family, it was my mother’s Italian cooking that gave our front door a steady workout at dinner time from family members and friends. So I figured if anyone knew the meaning of family dinner in our area it had to be Mike and Franca.
Taking a chance I called Altomonte’s Market and was directed to Mike and Franca’s daughter, Maria Teresa Nappi. So warm and enthusiastic was she, I felt like I was talking with one of my nieces. Their family dinners are not just a daily occurrence, Maria says, they are essential to the fabric of the family. Before our call ended, I had an invitation to dinner. The date was set for December 8 at her parents’ home in Warminster.
The dinner would be both typical and atypical, she says, because December 8 is the traditional date in Italy for tasting the new vintage of homemade wines and, in their family, of also celebrating her mother’s birthday. With the date so close to Christmas, she says, I’d also see some of the family’s traditional decorations for the holiday.
Learn more about holidays at the Grispinos by going to page 70 of the Winter 2015/16 of Bucks County Magazine.