For some, food is more than sustenance. It offers comfort, expresses love, and provides a connection to culture. That spirit can be felt throughout Giacomo’s Italian Market. Owner Giacomo Santomauro is the youngest of three sons born to first-generation Italian immigrants who settled in New York and built a life on Long Island. Raised in his family’s restaurants and butcher shop, Giacomo fondly remembers his father rolling pasta, his mother adding the filling, and he and his brothers sealing each piece. Through these experiences, he not only learned a trade but also developed a deep pride in his family’s culinary heritage.
Giacomo and his wife, Laura, moved to North Carolina in the late 1990s when he began a career as a firefighter. Soon after, Giacomo realized he missed the independence and fulfillment of running a business. The couple found a vacant storefront on High Point Road and opened an Italian market by hobbling together secondhand deli cases and some of his father’s old equipment.
For the first year, Giacomo balanced the market with his firefighting career, maintaining a grueling schedule. After working a 24-hour shift at the firehouse — where he also served as the cook — he would head to the market to make sausage, prepare bread, and clean the store. The demanding hours were difficult to sustain, but the market was attracting a loyal following.
Giacomo opened San Giuseppe Salami Co. in an Elon facility to produce the specialty meats sold at the market. Later, he opened a second market at the corner of Battleground Avenue and New Garden Road, eventually consolidating operations at that location, where the business remains today.
Nearly every meat served at Giacomo’s is made in-house, including salami, soppressata, pastrami, deli chicken, and pancetta. Prosciutto and mortadella are imported from Italy because, as Giacomo says, he could not improve upon the originals. He and his team also prepare meatballs from freshly ground beef and pork, produce fresh pasta, and grate cheese directly from the wheel.
Giacomo’s Italian Market is a Greensboro treasure built on fresh ingredients, old world traditions, and a strong work ethic passed down through generations. “We are a true authentic Italian market. Hands down. It’s not just the name. It’s not the décor. It’s the true authenticity of what we do,” Giacomo shares proudly.
That sense of tradition also shapes the culture behind the counter. Several employees have been with Giacomo’s for a decade or longer, including one who has worked there since the High Point Road days. Giacomo works alongside his team and treats his employees like family. Meanwhile his own family is always close by: Laura continues to manage the bookkeeping and administrative work, their son works at the market, and their daughter helps with social media.
After more than two decades in business, Giacomo remains grateful to the community that embraced his family and their food. "This is my passion," he states with conviction.
As Giacomo looks to the future, the market remains grounded in a timeless belief: “The food around the table is what makes the family stick together.”
Visit Giacomo's Italian Market at 2109 New Garden Road in Greensboro.