Larry Hines‘ quest to find the green olives he enjoyed at a restaurant years ago recently led him to Mt. Carmel Gourmet Food, a shop in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market.
The paralegal from Pelham Bay Park told the man behind the counter, Michael Navarra, that the olives he wanted were from Italy.
“They’re all from Italy,” Navarra said.
In fact, Navarra said, 90 percent of Mt. Carmel’s business comes from the sale of Italian imports. The coffee beans, espresso, Parmesan cheese, pasta, vinegar, olive oil, and tiramisu and amaretto treats are all imported.
Recent financial turmoil and social unrest in Italy have some importers and shop owners in the Bronx’s Little Italy preparing for price increases on Italian goods. Still, they remain hopeful that customers won’t turn away.
