Something special is growing in Morris Plains. It’s called Jersey Artisan Co., and it’s the passion of 34-year-old Sal Pisani that has brought it to life. It’s his new café that ties together a lifelong mission to share his Southern Italian roots with the community.
Like most parents, Sal’s father taught him family traditions in hopes that he’d carry them on to future generations. But unlike most kids, Sal actually listened. Not only did he listen, but he lived it. His father taught him about sourcing locally, the importance of sustainability, and the joy of bringing people together around a table.
Soon after college, Sal began making small-batch cheeses out of a dairy farm in Sussex County. “That’s where I spent six years making cheese, fine-tuning the recipes, and getting experience building out a team.” He traveled around New Jersey selling at farmers’ markets and building relationships with local business owners, and in 2023, formed Jersey Artisan Co.
Now working out of his state-inspected cheese facility in Whippany, he uses his father’s techniques to make curd cheeses like ricotta, mozzarella, and burrata. If you’ve ever tasted fresh ricotta in Italy, you certainly know the difference. Sal explains, “The word ‘ricotta’ means ‘recooked’, so with our method, you’re heating up the milk to make fresh mozzarella, and then you’re reheating the whey to make ricotta. As a result, it’s super smooth and actually less fat. We also ladle it all very gently by hand.”
Spring Run Dairy in Pittstown, New Jersey, supplies 600 gallons of raw milk for Jersey Artisan’s cheese making each week. “Since it’s so seasonal and depending on what the cows eat, we see a difference in the color. You’re so used to seeing a white ball. With ours, you may see a little yellow color, and that’s just showing it’s a natural product. We allow the beauty of what changes seasonally to show.”
In a separate area of his cheese facility, there’s “the cave” where all the aging magic happens. It’s filled with hanging shapes of scamorza and caciocavallo. Shelves are stacked with wheels of primo sale, asiago, and toma. All his varieties are used in dishes served at his café, and “there are a few top restaurants we’re really proud to be in. The Summit House, Chef AJ, has been at many top restaurants in New Jersey. I met him when I first started. Wherever he’s moved, he’s taken our cheese.”
Sal’s bread facility in East Hanover was the original location where all the products were sold. Now, it’s exclusively used for baking their artisan loaves. He explained, “Our bread is a three-day process, which is a slow fermentation that develops flavor nicely and naturally with our 100% sourdough starter. We use River Valley Community Grains, which is a local mill in Blairstown, so we’re sourcing grain from the tri-state area. We’re continuing the tradition of using what’s around us to make healthy food. It’s a philosophy all Southern Italians live by.”
One type of bread that speaks to Sal’s Calabrian roots is their whole wheat loaf. It’s a hearty bread typically served in that region. “It’s special because we put whey in it from our cheese making instead of water. So, it’s not dairy-free, but it gets a little bit of fermentation from the cheese.”
And this is the old-school sustainability that remains constant throughout everything Sal does. “This whole thing is just sharing the traditions of how I grew up. Everything that you see is what we did on a small scale at home, whether it was stuff from our garden, or animals we raised that my dad would produce here in our backyard.”
Sal had a vision from the beginning that has finally come to fruition, and that’s the newly opened Jersey Artisan Café in Morris Plains. He’s still making his cheese in Whippany, and bread in East Hanover, but it’s this family hub that brings it all together. It’s a one-stop shop for all of his special products, but here, he’s bringing a taste of Italy to New Jersey.
He's created the most authentic Italian coffee bar we’ve ever seen, delicious homemade breads and pastries, and the GELATO. It’s all as authentic as he is.
But this café is so much more than food. On any given day, you’ll see Sal’s beautiful wife and baby boy, his in-laws, parents, relatives, and friends sitting and enjoying just like you see in Italy. He makes his rounds, giving a friendly hug and making sure everyone there feels at home. Because for him, it’s sincerely about family. Sal says, “It’s so nice to see couples you know, and families coming to the café, sitting down and enjoying the coffee with one of our pastries.”
And what does Sal’s father think? “He’s in love with it. He’s the first one to come in the morning. This is something that he always loved doing for us at home. Just cooking for people and seeing them smile.”
Whether you're getting it from a friend who grows it or creating a product, feed your family and local community. That's why everyone visits Italy, because the food is produced in a healthy way.