STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- John Pasquale stood in front of a freshly stocked rack of brick oven bread at Freddie's in Eltingville on a recent late morning. The patron put his hand over the bagged, seeded loaves still hot and fragrant with yeast.
"This is good bread," declared the former Port Richmond baker who purchased Zinicola's Bakery in 1975.
The recipe is simple, explained Freddie's Joe "The Baker" Mangiapane: It is made just with flour, yeast, water and salt. Each weekday, bakers produce about 300 loaves. On weekends, that number climbs to roughly 600. When they sell out, they sell out.
The Sunday meatball production gets quite a bit of attention from loyal patrons: Kitchens at Freddie's turn out over 750 pan-fried meatballs to satisfy the crowds.
And Freddie Castellano, who is the face and name of the sprawling store, will point to a rather popular item like Freddie's Chicken Parmigiana to express the "from scratch" tenet that dominates the store.
"We make the bread crumbs. We make the sauce. We make the fresh mozzarella..." said Freddie who has been working this pork store and fresh mozzarella operation for 15 years.
About a year-and-a-half ago, he took on a new partner, Danny Gambino, 36, who helped revamp the store and bring in new ideas to the business. Still, Danny will say Freddie's old school principles are at the core of what they're doing: No beer in the store, no cigarettes, only freshness throughout the store's inventory plus wholesome dishes for families in the neighborhood.
"So when that train lets out at 6 o'clock, they can get meals just like Grandma would make to feed the family," said Freddie.
The store underwent some renovations recently that Danny says are ongoing. Deli offerings, hearty salads, prepared Italian foods and catering have been kicked up a notch. And this summer, the partners added a gelato shop which has a storefront unto itself.
Outside of Freddie's gelateria, customers can find a shady spot to sit under an awning and umbrellas. On the menu here are soft serve ice cream, Italian ices, espresso, gelato and a slushy, semi-frozen cup of goodness called granita. L'Artigiano is the brand of gelato celebrated at the stand, an organic, kosher product made in Italy. The shop is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Danny popped open bottles of Boylan's orange, grape and cherry sodas to demonstrate some of Freddie's specialty gelato drinks made with vanilla soft-serve. "Affogato" comes with a scoop of gelato made molten from shots of espresso. Ice cream flavors include Neapolitan, Strawberry, Butter Pecan, Cookies 'n' Cream and Coffee. An oversized cream puff can be filled with the likes of black cherry gelato dusted with sprinkles.
"Everything we make fresh," reiterated Danny.
"It's all family coming here. It's building up the community," Freddie said gesturing to the sidewalk in front of his place going up Richmond Avenue past the gelato shop to Giovanni's Trattoria and its new outdoor, late-night concept called La Terrazza.
"Giovanni's and us, we feed off each other," said Freddie. The continual people-traffic have been good for all the businesses on the block making it a food destination.
In the meantime, Freddie greets customers who happen past the deli counter or bread section. He gives this one a hug and that one a smile, shares a laugh with a Sanitation guy and asks another patron with sincerity, "How's the family?"
He hands Pasquale a loaf of bread, then an armful, then loads up Pasquale's friend, Kenny DiGennaro, with semolina loaves.
"Give it to your friends,"' encouraged Freddie.
Freddie's Gourmet and Freddie's Outdoor Gelato Cafe are located at 3830 Richmond Ave., Eltingville and can be reached by the same number: 719-967-3049.