This summer, a new charcuterie market will challenge Paul Kahan’s West Loop meat monopoly. The name is new but the faces behind it are familiar: Tempesta Market (1372 W. Grand Ave.) is the work of Agostino and Tony Fiasche, the father-son team at the head of Franklin Park’s Nduja Artisans Salumeria.
Tempesta seems like a big step forward for the family business, but, per Tony, it’s been a long time coming. “We’ve doubled our business every year,” he says. “Of course, we are a tiny speck in the market, but we plan to keep growing.”
Tempesta will be part deli, part pantry, and part sit-down eatery. Expect the family’s proprietary cured meats (including plenty of that sweet, spreadable nduja), plus a gelato case, coffee service, and a 30- to 40-seat restaurant with charcuterie-centric counter service. In time, vino may join Tempesta’s shelves of Italian specialties: Tony says acquiring a liquor license is on the to-do list.
A slightly more formal dinner option is also on the agenda. No word on how that menu might shake out, but Tony suggests Ristorante Agostino Gustofino—the Northwest-Side refectory his parents have owned and run for over 30 years—as a point of reference. There, Tony’s mother, Anna Longobardi Fiasche, still rolls the meatballs and stuffs the eggplant. He cites the side dishes and street foods of her native Naples as a source of inspiration. “It’s the kind of food I was born into,” says Tony. “It’s old-school, but we’re trying to mix in a good amount of new-school, too.”
In the spirit of the new-school, Nduja Artisans will drop its hard-to-pronounce name sometime soon. Thereafter, the company will be known as Tempesta Artisan Salumi.