Tailgating, teacher appreciation, graduation, weddings, baby showers, funerals and many life events in between, Alpine Food Shop caters them all. Feeding the community is a tradition cherished by the owners and customers alike.
Twenty-six years ago, Kathy Bonaccorsi and her husband, along with other family members, bought Alpine, 7538 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park. Ever since then Kathy has managed the catering business.
“People will call and say, ‘I’m having a party, what do you think I need?’” Bonaccorsi said. “I just try to guide them. I ask questions, ‘What is the age group? Do you have any other food? What’s the occasion, the time of day,’ that kind of thing.”
It’s all very personal and hands-on. Trays of 3-inch-cut sandwiches fly out of the shop on weekdays and weekends. Experience tells Bonaccorsi that men usually will eat three of the 3-inch sandwiches and women will eat two.
The most popular choice is their Alpine sub: ham, salami, capicollo with provolone cheese. Turkey is next in line, followed closely by veggie subs, which are roasted red pepper, portabella mushroom and provolone.
Salads usually accompany the sandwiches too. Potato salad is a classic. Primavera pasta includes rotini pasta with fresh-cut vegetables, sliced black olives and a vinegarette dressing. And shells salad has green olives, mushrooms and red peppers in a parsley-pesto-parmesan base.
“Every is cold, we still don’t do anything hot,” she said. But it is fresh. “A big part is that we go through so much. We’re opening hams, turkeys, cooking beefs and corned beef constantly. And our oil and vinegar mixture that we make is unmatched anywhere. It’s not spicy, but there’s some crushed red pepper in there. And there’s a pesto that we make. You can’t just make up this recipe at home. People try all the time.”
The bread is from Turano.
“Literally we get it delivered two, three times a day,” she said. “And the lettuce, the tomato, it’s all fresh and prepared daily. And then there is love.”
Bonaccorsi grew up at North and Central Avenues in Chicago. Her husband grew up in Elmwood Park. It means a great deal to them to continue the traditions that started at Alpine more than 70 years ago.
“People come in all the time, saying, ‘Oh, I went to school here or there. I lived down the street.’ People come from the airport a lot,” she said. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re one of our first stops.’”
Kathy Bonaccorsi remembers everyone’s orders or at least she has a system to help her remember.
“I have folders of orders that I save because I know they’re going to call back,” she said. “Like every St. Patrick’s Day, we do the same parties. Christmas. We do a lot of team orders now with spring sports starting. I’ll save those orders because different parents usually get the orders and they’ll like, ‘Oh, I want whatever we had last game.’ And I’m like, okay, hold on, let me go find you.”
Typically, the shop asks for orders three days in advance.
“If there’s an unknown event, like a death in the family, a birth,” she said. “I never say no. I try not to. If it comforts people, then I’m happy. It’s all about being a part of the community.”
Order up your own
Website: alpinefoodshop.com
Address: 7538 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park
Hours: Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Monday Closed
Tues – Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.