Three Generations of Bread in Little Italy
Series: Ottawa Eats
Forno Marini has baked bread on the same corner of Little Italy since Sofia's grandfather opened the doors. When the pandemic gutted foot traffic, the bakery came within weeks of closing for good. Sofia talks about the pivot to wholesale that saved the business, modernizing a company that ran on handshakes and paper, working alongside family, and the Saturday morning line that tells her the neighbourhood still cares.
- Growing up above the bakery
- The weeks the bakery almost closed
- Pivoting to wholesale
- Modernizing a handshake business
- Family, succession and what comes next
The oven doesn't care how you feel. It's on at four.
Sofia Marini
Owner, Forno Marini
Sofia's family has baked bread in Little Italy for three generations. When the pandemic nearly closed the bakery for good, she rebuilt the business around wholesale and a line out the door on Saturdays. Her story is about stubbornness, flour, and what a neighbourhood owes its institutions.