About Us
The DiGregorio Family
Salvatore “Sam” DiGregorio was born in Lercara Friddi, Sicily on March 3, 1932, to Francesco and Guiseppa DiGregorio. The DiGregorio’s had eight children before moving to Liege, Belgium because of World War II. Sam married Theodora “Dora” on September 15, 1951. In June of 1954, Sam and Dora moved to St. Louis, Mo. with their two small children, Guiseppa “Josephine” and Francesco “Frank”. In the states, Sam and Dora had two more children, Antonia “Toni” and Giovanni “John”.
In June 1971, Sam seized an opportunity to start a small corner grocery store on “The Hill”. He worked long, hard hours to create a legacy for his family and his community. For 29 years, Sam distinguished himself as the proud owner of DiGregorio’s Italian Market where he earned a glowing reputation for his business and customer service. The market became well-known for delightful Italian salsiccia (sausage) and other Italian products, and Sam became deeply respected and admired by all those who patronized his store for his honesty, integrity, and excellent service.
Active in business until his death in 2000, Sam was an invaluable member of his community and was exceedingly proud of his professional affiliation with such organizations as the Bocce Club, and the Sicilian Cultural Association. In 1994, the UNICO, a charitable Italian group honored Sam as its “Man of the Year”. In 1998, the St. Louis Columbus Day parade committee proudly selected Sam as Grand Marshall in appreciation and recognition of service to the Italian American community.
It is our mission, to continue our grandfather’s tradition and character by providing the highest quality of products and customer service fifty years after the beginning.
Fast forward to today, our store is very much still in the family! We know familiar faces will always bring a sort of comfort to our customers, which is exactly why Dora still greets patrons from behind the register, today. Although our family is much too large now to introduce everyone in a short blog post, rest assured that Sam and Dora’s children and grandchildren are doing everything they can to uphold the DiGregorio legacy and following the groundwork that was laid before them!
From our famiglia to yours,
The DiGregorio’s
DiGregorio Family at the Italian Open Gala 2024
The Market
Our dream came to fruition over 50 years ago when Salvatore (Sam) DiGregorio and Theodora (Dora) opened our corner market in 1971 to share authentic and specialty Italian products with their new city. Our mission is to continue their legacy by providing the community with the highest quality of food products with honesty, integrity, and excellent service.
Now three generations into our family business, we have grown into a St. Louis staple for more than just common grocery items. We are proud to supply a variety of imported products, the finest deli meats, specialty cheeses, superior wines and liqueurs, pastas, and countless homemade foods.
Our deli is stocked with excellent imported and domestic meats, cheeses, and olives including renowned brands like Boar’s Head, Volpi, and Stella. In the meat department, we prepare our famous Italian Salsiccia (sausage), along with hand-cut steaks, chicken, and homemade Spiedini.
Moreover, our selection of imported and domestic olive oils and balsamic vinegars is astounding. From the exceptional quality of imported Italian extra virgin olive oils to fruit infused balsamic vinegars, there is surely something on our shelves for your table.
We’re proud of our extensive freezer section where you can find over 60 different ravioli, cannelloni, tortellini, and many of our homemade products that are made right in our kitchen. We offer homemade red sauces, white sauces, seafood sauce, and pizza sauce – all original family recipes. Likewise, we make our own frozen pizzas, many kinds of meatballs, microwavable lasagna and pasta dinners, and of course, cannoli for dessert!
For the past 50 years, Sam and Dora’s dream and mission to give back to our community through food and service has come true and even grown exponentially all because of our incredibly devoted customers. Without you, we would never be where we are today as a family, as a business, and as a community.
We are honored to serve the St. Louis community and beyond!
Sam DiGregorio
Sam behind the deli counter, circa 1997.