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A SPECIALTY MARKET OWNER BRINGS OLD WORLD ITALIAN DELICACIES TO MARLBORO AND MATAWAN

Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to a barber and a housewife, John Livoti learned the value of family and hard work from an early age. A lifetime of oversized and delicious Italian Sunday dinners prepared by his mother, now 73, and the work ethic of his dad (a barber, now 74) taught Livoti the value of good food and good business. (His father still owns the barber shop where he has spent his career.)

“I come from a loving family that showed love through food,” said Livoti, owner of Livoti’s Old World Market, a full-service gourmet market with two New Jersey locations. “My mom is a great cook and she was feeding us every Sunday. I loved it. I thought it was special.”

A graduate of Lafayette High School, the owner worked his way up in the grocery business in New York City and saved to open up his own store, carrying with him a devotion to homemade food. In 2010, that dream was realized when he opened Livoti’s Old World Market in Matawan. The store was instantly a success with customers—a mash-up of New Jersey natives and New York transplants.

“It has been very successful,” he said. “We opened up a New York style market in the suburbs of New Jersey, and people loved the concept of one-stop shopping in a 12,000-square-footspace.” His customers are able to get fresh fish, baked goods, a variety of produce, meat, and deli service, all in one spot, without killing an hour meandering the aisles of a superstore.

“My customers are busy people. Here, they don’t have to run through a giant supermarket to get a few things. This was a great niche.”

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The gourmet store carries everything from fresh fish to prepared meals to a dozen eggs. Livoti also does catering. “Things get tight,” the husband and father of three noted. “Here, people can come in and buy packaged food. It’s like having a home-cooked meal.”

Each location employs chefs who create more than 100 prepared entrees. “Every night you have a choice: chicken in fig sauce, or salmon on cedar plank, for example. It’s really good stuff. The outcome shows that.”

“We specialize in all-Italian gourmet specialties,” the owner explained. “And everything is either fresh or homemade on site. We go to the market five days a week for fresh produce.” While Italian bread is baked on premises, other baked treats are delivered from NYC daily.

In addition, there’s mozzarella being made right in front of customers’ eyes. “We have an unbelievable mozzarella station; you can watch the guy make it right in front of you,” said Livoti. The store is modelled after the owner’s mother’s shopping habits—the very habits that brought huge, delicious Sunday dinner to the table every week. “We called it the ‘old world’ market because my mom takes her wagon up and down 86th Street in Brooklyn,” Livoti said. “This is the way she shops—a traditional market to pick up all your goodies.”

The concept was so well received, in fact, that within four years of opening his first store, Livoti added a second—this time in Marlboro. “A lot of customers were calling for me to come to this side of Monmouth County…the other side of Route 9, a short distance away,” he explained, adding that he’s looking for locations for another store in Northern New Jersey.

Livoti personally supervises daily operations at both locations and leans on his management and family to keep things running smoothly. “I oversee both stores with help of my family – my son-in-law, Mike, my uncle, Mike and my children and my wife. That’s what makes it work. We care about each department. We give you a unique market to shop in, but with very reasonable prices.”

For Livoti, the hands-on approach is the best way to ensure both customers and employees are happy, the Colts Neck resident said.

The stores employ a combined 150 people, and both are located close to major competitors, but that hasn’t hurt business. “We get solicited by real estate developers for us to go be an anchor in new spaces,” Livoti said.

The owner spend hours each day at each store. “By being hands-on ownership, I’m making sure everything is done precisely,” he noted, adding that he also relies on family members and management to keep things running smoothly.

“It’s a long day, it starts at 7 and doesn’t end ‘til 7:00 or 8:00.” The markets do get in the way of family time, but having family involved in the business makes up for it. Occasional Sunday dinners now start in late afternoon – after the work day.

“We don’t do Sundays so much anymore; Sunday is the busiest shopping day,” the owner, a grandfather of two, explained.

“We try to get together after work on Sundays.” He paused and then added: “If it was easy, everybody would do it.”

“I’m very proud of it all,” Livoti said, wearing one of his now famous T-shirts that reads “Mangiamo Bene – Eat Good at Livoti’s.”

Photos By Premier Digital Photography