Many think this Italian grocery and deli is one of the best kept secrets in D.C. and it has been that way for over a century. Last month, A. Litteri, near Union Market, celebrated its 100th year in business.
The store was opened by Antonio Litteri, a Sicilian immigrant, in 1926. Their location on Morse Street NE, just a block from Union Market, is technically their third location, but they have been in the same building since 1932, according to current owner Max Evans.
Litteri鈥檚 brother-in-law joined the business; for generations it was run by the DeFrancisci family.
Evans bought the business in 2019 after selling wine to A. Litteri as a distributor for years.
鈥淭hat’s kind of how I ended up taking over the store,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淚 got to know this place. I’m from D.C. I was born in D.C., but as a kid I didn’t even know this place existed, and that’s something that we hear every day.鈥�
Evans said the business gets brand new customers all the time.
Just last month, A. Litteri celebrated 100 years in business, and during the festivities, Evans said over 1,000 people stopped by for gelato or their iconic Italian sub.
The Italian grocery and deli is a place with hard to find items. Those include specialty pastas to Italian meats that many of your pasta recipes call for that are hard to find at your local Giant or Safeway, like San Marzano tomatoes and salty Guanciale.
鈥淭hat’s a prime example of the kind of thing that we always have,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淚t’s imported from Italy, and it’s the real deal, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that you can’t get at a regular grocery store.鈥�
There is also hardly a store in the D.C. region that has a more extensive list of fine Italian wines. But despite these specialty items, Evans said the store’s aim is to keep these culinary components as affordable as possible.
Evans said the rise of cooking tutorials on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok has also given rise to people search out these harder to find items to cook with in their own homes.
鈥淭hose things have a huge effect on the kind of things that people are looking for, and just people’s general comfort with food and wine as a whole,鈥� Evans said.
While these groceries are a thriving business, the real draw for most are their sandwiches.
鈥淲e tend to be a little bit more affordable than a lot of other places doing similar things, and that is intentional, and it’s because I want to keep this place available to as many people as possible,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淲e really try hard to keep the prices down for subs.鈥�
The most famous sub is the classic Italian on a hard roll, packed with capicola, Genoa salami, mortadella, prosciuttini and provolone.
During the lunchtime rush, hungry people fill out their order form and hand it to the deli counter, and minutes later receive the deli delight wrapped in butcher paper.
Over its 100 years, A. Litteri has seen a lot of change in its Northeast D.C. neighborhood, transitioning from a more industrial area to now a gentrified area with high-rise apartment buildings and Union Market just down the street.
Evans said this growth has actually improved business rather than pricing the Italian store out of the area.
鈥淭he changes in the neighborhood have brought way more residents,鈥� Evans said. 鈥淧eople with more disposable income, so we have a level of neighborhood foot traffic that the store never had for 90 years.鈥�
Evans hopes they can stay open for another 100 years and credits his loyal customers.
鈥淲e owe it completely to our customers, we have unbelievable, loyal customers that, in lots of different hard times over the years, have turned out for us, and so we don’t take it for granted,” he said.
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