A new Italian-American market and deli is coming to Wedgewood Houston. Ingrassia & Sons is the brainchild of John Ingrassia.
What Now Nashville connected with Ingrassia over the phone to learn more about this business set to open in a few months.
“Ingrassia & Sons is my version of the kinds of delis I grew up around on Long Island,” said Ingrassia. “I spent years in New York City and Philadelphia, and between those two cities I got to know these kinds of sandwich-oriented delis really well. This kind of deli was something I thought Nashville could use a little more of.”
The deli and market will offer Italian-American sandwiches and prepared food, groceries, wine and beer, gelato, espresso, and more. There are two items in particular Ingrassia is excited to bring to the Wedgewood Houston area: porchetta and focaccia.
The chopped porchetta sandwich has all the right ingredients to become a Nashville-favorite. Ingrassia described it as pork wrapped around pork which is then coated in herbs and roasted for hours. Ingrassia & Sons will also sell fresh-baked sea-salt focaccia. Slightly thinner than your typical focaccia, this bread will be the foundation for many of the deli’s sandwiches, giving them a unique and memorable flavor.
“I think in Nashville so much of the focus of Italian concepts has been on upscale dining– that’s great, but I am hoping Ingrassia & Sons can help make authentic Italian food more accessible for people,” he said. “We will be the kind of place where people can stop in to buy ingredients their families have used for generations or try something new for the first time. Ingrassia & Sons is for people who like eating and cooking Italian food. Half of my motivation with opening Ingrassia & Sons is to more easily get ingredients I love in town.”
Located at the corner of Humphreys Street and Martin Street, Ingrassia & Sons has a prime location in the fast-expanding Wedgewood Houston neighborhood. It is located on the first floor of the Martin Flats Apartments, a co-living micro-apartment community. There will be 20 seats for people to sit down and enjoy their purchase in the 1,700 square-foot deli.
The two walls of windows will provide immediate visibility from the cross streets. When temperatures permit, Ingrassia & Sons will have seating outdoors. Inside, the deli will be a mix of modern and classic styles. Ingrassia wants the space to feel comfortable without being too formal. There will be a lot of tile, high ceilings and a concrete floor. Ingrassia plans to have an old fashioned jukebox for guests to use. It will be filled with 7in vinyl records from Ingrassia’s personal collection.
“Nashville and the cities around it have been growing so fast in recent years, but I got here just in time to see the food scene really take off,” said Ingrassia. “Before then it was only in a select few places where you could walk around and get food. I got really excited by the idea of participating in this growth, and I love the idea of getting to share my food with the people I have worked with in this area.”
Ingrassia moved to Nashville in 2009, but his ties to the area go back to the 1980s when he frequently stopped in Music City for work. Ingrassia is now leaving a 35-year career in the music industry behind to pursue something he’s always wanted to do.
Ingrassia considers himself “an enthusiastic home cook” but after taking a course at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, he began taking cooking a little more seriously. His mind ran with thoughts of how he could channel his personal history into his cooking. When he was young, Ingrassia learned the fundamentals of cooking from his Neapolitan grandmother and Sicilian grandfather.
The name “Ingrassia & Son” actually refers back to John’s grandfather. He had immigrated to the U.S. along with his four brothers from Sicily. The five of them went on to form a band and eventually went on to have sons of their own. Ingrassia & Sons is a tribute to his family’s history in both Italy and the U.S.
Over the last year, Ingrassia has been catering events all over Nashville to refine his recipes and business practices before launching his brick-and-mortar location.
Ingrassia and his team are about to complete the permitting process. They are set to begin construction shortly. He plans to fast-track construction to get doors open this fall.
