(PUEBLO, Colo.) — We Are Southern Colorado and recently took a drive down to Pueblo’s historic Bessemer neighborhood to highlight Gagliano’s Italian Market & Deli, a family-owned and operated business for more than 100 years.

Courtesy: FOX21 News Chief Photojournalist Dez Rowe

On Thursday, March 13, one of the owners, Vince Gagliano, gave FOX21 News Digital Executive Producer Sarah Ferguson a tour inside the recently remodeled store, located at 1220 Elm Street.

“My great uncle and aunt started the store in 1921 and we are the fourth generation,” he said. “We just recently put in a new deli case, the last one was from the 1930s, and we also kind of fixed up the store a little bit.”

Courtesy: FOX21 News Digital Executive Producer Sarah Ferguson

Some of the new scenery customers may notice is the colorful backsplash of green, white, and red behind the deli, representing the flag of Italy. “The other backsplash was from the 1950s, but we kept a lot of the original items in the store including our original butcher block that my grandfather used to cut meat on.”

Gagliano’s offers an array of delicious items for customers to choose from including; several different kinds of pasta, homemade sausage and pasta sauce, make-to-order sandwiches, Badabing Bread, and the family’s famous lemon olive oil, just to name a few. “That olive oil comes from my grandfather’s original farm,” he said.

At the register, you may even bump into Anthony “Papa” Gagliano, but be sure to visit the store before 4 p.m. because if Papa gets tired, the store may close just a touch early. “If we close a little bit early, it’s because he says so,” Vince said.

Anthony “Papa” Gagliano

Other options at the store include homemade take-and-bake lasagna, chicken parmesan, and meatballs. Don’t forget to take a moment and look at the photos inside too, which pay homage to the family’s heritage. “We have a picture of my parents’ village where they came from in Sicily, it’s a town of 2,500 people, called Luca Sicula, which means Luca of Sicily in Latin.”

Customers can also pick up a sweet treat including Italian cookies and Slovenian Walnut Potica bread. In April, Gagliano’s will also be selling its Easter bread. “It’s a sweet bread with Easter eggs inside and that’s a traditional Sicilian bread,” Vince explained.

Josephina “Mama” Gagliano sits next to FOX21’s Sarah Ferguson and Vince Gagliano

Speaking of sweet treats, I joined Vince and Josephina “Mama” Gagliano to make the filling for delicious Sicilian Cannolis.

Sicilian Cannolis Recipe

Cannoli Recipe (ingredients)

4 cups sifted flour

3 tbsp. butter or margarine

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup white wine

Vegetable oil

Cannoli Recipe (steps)

Mix flour, sugar, and salt in bowl. Cut in butter or margarine. Add egg yolks. Stir in wine, 1 tbsp. at a time, until a doughlike consistency forms.

Roll dough into balls. Cover and let stand 1/2 hour.

Roll dough balls with rolling pin on a floured board until thin. Cut in 4” circles. Wrap circles around cannoli forms. Fry in vegetable oil until brown, approximately 1 minute. Drain, and gently remove forms. Cool sheets thoroughly before filling.

Cannoli Filling Recipe (ingredients)

4 cups ricotta cheese (add equal parts mascarpone for sweeter taste)

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup chopped semi-sweet chocolate

1/3 cup finely chopped candied fruit

Cannoli Filling Recipe (steps)

Blend ricotta cheese and mascarpone (if using) in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, fruits, and chocolate. Chill.

Using a pastry bag fill cannoli shells with chilled ricotta filling.

On each side of the cannoli, put chopped pistachios, chocolate chips or cherries to decorate and for added taste.

This time around and for time purposes, the cannoli shells were already made, but if you prefer to make your own cannoli shells, Gagliano’s sells the cannoli forms. Step-by-step instructions inlcuding the recipe can be found on the back of the box which is distributed by Sandicrafts, Inc. If you prefer to just make the filling (it’s okay, us too), you can buy the cannoli shells, homemade at Gagliano’s.

Homemade cannoli shells at Gagliano’s

Gagliano’s is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are closed on Sunday. For more information, visit gaglianosmarket.com.