Italian Deli Cavallaro Westmount Files for Bankruptcy

As first reported two weeks ago, Cavallaro Westmount, a fixture on Sherbrooke Ouest for almost 25 years, has closed. With a menu of slab pizzas, deli sandwiches, and prepared pastas, the business, from couple Andrea Friedman and Tony Russo, was long a popular lunch stop. Cavallaro also doubled as a vendor of gourmet Italian products. In response to a concerned Facebook query about the business, Russo responded: "Overhead was just to [sic] much. Sorry. Thanks for support."

The business has, in fact, filed for bankruptcy, to the tune of $276,000. Notable creditors include Veer bakery in Pierrefonds (owed $22,093), which made Cavallaro's challah dough; Villa Ravioli ($7,229); olive oil importer Itaca Direct ($8,242); and L'Art Blanc bakery, owned by Giuseppe Cavallaro, of Groupe Cavallaro ($4,625). The franchisor, which collected royalties from Friedman and Russo, and served as a supplier, affirmed that it made several offers to purchase the Westmount branch. Russo, however, disputed the claim.

"Nobody wanted to buy. Cavallaro's offer was bad. I said, 'I'll give back the store, you take care of payables.' They didn't want. They didn't want to run it, and work seven days a week, 12 hours a day. Between them and the landlord, it was too much. Bankruptcy was the only way out."

"He had plenty of opportunities to rectify the problem," a Groupe Cavallaro spokesperson told Eater. "We were ready to take over the store. Bankruptcy was an easy way out."

This article, originally published on October 13, has been updated with new information.