What started as a Tuscan dream is fast becoming a reality across the United States. Sogno Toscano, Italian for Tuscan dream, opened its third cafe and marketplace last week in Santa Monica. It’s the latest move from the boutique Italian importer and distributor with a coast-to-coast wholesale business and two New York City locations.
The new 3,000-square-foot space in Los Angeles's seaside Santa Monica community features indoor seating and a Tuscan-inspired outdoor dining patio, as well as a market selling direct-from-Italy retail products from the Sogno Toscano brand. Their flagship product, the finishing olive oil “Fattoria,” leads the way, along with tomatoes imported from the south of Italy, organic pasta, olives, DOP cheeses including Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Terra di Siena charcuterie.
The Santa Monica Sogno Toscano will also feature Italian wines for sale in the shop, as well as available for drinking in the cafe, where guests can pair the wines with cheese and salumi plates. Plans are in the works for events including Italian cooking classes and wine and cheese tastings.
Open from 8 am-10 pm daily, Sogno Toscano Santa Monica will start each day with an Italian breakfast selection of coffee and pastries, and offer lunch selections including salads and Tuscan-style sandwiches.
The Santa Monica cafe represents a big step forward for this intriguing brand, which started in 2007 when childhood friends Pietro Brembilla and Brian Persico moved to New York City from Bolgheri, Tuscany to import finishing olive oil; both of their families have owned and run olive groves for generations. The friends started out selling directly to upscale restaurants, providing private label extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany, and grew the business into a wholesale importer of other fine Italian products with eight warehouses.
In 2021, they opened the original Sogno Toscano in the West Village in Manhattan, followed by a location in Chelsea. Now, with a Los Angeles-area location, the brand is expanding its retail presence, adding a hospitality portfolio to its successful importing, wholesale, and e-commerce business. Call it a Tuscan dream fulfilled.
Sogno Toscano, 1512 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, CA 90403, (310) 393-2331, @sognotoscano, sognotoscano.com
