September 16, 2018

There’s now a place in Chadds Ford where patrons can get a taste of history, quite literally, as well as a bite to eat. The new café, Chadds Café and Shop opened in the Barn Shops Saturday. Half the shop is dedicated to strombolis from the Romano family.

According to Pete Romano, his grandfather — Nazzareno Romano — invented the stromboli 75 years ago in Essington. He started with something referred to as pizza imbottito, or stuffed pizza. “Nat” Romano added a few ingredients and the stromboli was born, though it didn’t have a name until his future son-in-law — Peter’s uncle — later came up with an idea for a name that he borrowed from cinematic history intertwined with a scandalous sexual escapade.

There was a film called “Stromboli” set in the Stromboli Island. The film starred Ingrid Bergman and was directed by Roberto Rosselini. Rosselini was married at the time, but he and Bergman had an affair and Swedish-born actress became pregnant. (Their child, born in 1952, was Isabella Rossellini.)

The process used to make Romano’s strombolis today is the same that was used 75 years ago. According to Pete Romano, his family’s strombolis are different because they use homemade bread dough, not pizza dough as other restaurants use.

History doesn’t stop there, either. John Anderson, the owner of the Barn Shops, and Pete Romano go back to childhood together. They’ve been friends since they were four years old and they see the new joint venture as a means of continuing that friendship into the business world.

“John and Bri [Anderson’s daughter] have been dreaming about making this spot come alive again and I’m glad to be a part of that,” Romano said.

As for Anderson, he said the opening of Chadds is a relief since he’s been trying to get that pad active for almost as long as he’s owned the Barn Shops.

“I’m happy about this. It’s going to be good for Chadds Ford and the families here,” he said.

But what if someone wants something lighter? Chadds has that covered, too. The other half of the building — where a former coffee shop and then a yoga studio had been — is a pastry and coffee shop operated by Pam Lau who worked at Talulah’s Table in Kennett Square for seven years.

She’s starting out with baked goods but will later expand to include vegetable platters to complement the strombolis.

She, too, understands what Anderson is looking to accomplish and is fully on board.

“We want to make this a community place, make the Barn Shops a destination place again,” Lau said.

For now, Chadds Café & Shop will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.