After an unsuccessful attempt to sell off the family business, Donatelli’s Italian grocery store in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood announced Wednesday that it will be closing sometime in August.

The storefront has sat on Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Little Italy for more than 90 years. In 2021, owner/operator Russell Donatelli announced the intentions of trying to sell the grocer in order to keep it open.

Those efforts came up short and Donatelli was unable to find a buyer. He said he hopes to keep the store open for a few more weeks.

“This is tough for my family,” said Donatelli. “We are one of the original (Italian) businesses left in the neighborhood.”

The store was originally opened in 1932 by Frank Donatelli and George Rosato in 1932. Its opening coincided with an influx of Italian immigrants to Bloomfield.

Donatelli said the grocer acted not just as a place for Italians to shop, but also as community support for immigrants getting accustomed to the American lifestyle.

Frank Donatelli and his son Paul ran the store during the 1960s and up until Frank’s retirement in 1975. From there, Paul ran the store with his sons, and eventually Paul’s son Russell ran the grocer on his own There is no family heir after him to carry on managing Donatelli’s.

Donatelli said the store will still be making and selling sausage, pasta, biscotti and other homemade Italian staples “that you can’t get a Giant Eagle” through its closing sometime in August. There will also be sales on dry goods to help Donatelli’s clear its inventory.

• Authentic piece of Bloomfield’s Little Italy — Donatelli’s — to close by year’s end • Bloomfield maintains traditions in a young, hip scene: A Pittsburgh guide

“We are open until our shelves are bare,” said Donatelli, encouraging customers to visit before the grocer closes.

Though the grocer is closing, but Donatelli said he is not retiring. He is hopeful to find a new place to continue to make homemade Italian classics like raviolis and other pastas.

Over the years, Bloomfield has lost some Italian-American owned businesses, but several still remain including Pleasure Bar, Merante’s take-out restaurant and gift shop, Linea Verde Green Market, and Dan Cercone Barber Shop. A smaller Italian grocery store, Bloomfield Groceria, sits just a couple blocks from Donatelli’s.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)