Whether you love to cook, or you’re a snacker who’s never met an olive you didn’t like, Bosa Foods is meant for you. For over six decades, Vancouver foodies have loved exploring the seemingly endless Italian products at Bosa Foods. When Bosa Foods’ flagship store opened in 2006 on Kootenay Street just off Boundary, it was a veritable emporium of all things great from Italy and the Mediterranean, and now due to an extensive refresh inside and out, it’s better than ever.
For over 60 years, Bosa Foods has celebrated food, family, and community. It all started in the 1940s, when Augusto Bosa began importing beloved ingredients from Italy for immigrant friends in Powell River, and eventually opening his Vancouver shop in 1957. Ever since, they have set the standard for Italian ingredients in the city.
That’s truer than ever at their Kootenay Street store. Shoppers there will have noticed as changes unfolded after-hours through recent months. The refresh means more than 60 feet (20 metres) of new deli cases have been added, plus over 30 feet (10 metres) of meats and house-made sausages. After all, anyone who’s had the pleasure of spending time in Italy knows the deli and cheese cases are often where great evenings begin.
Whether you’re on the hunt for fresh Italian sausages and pasta sauce ingredients or you’re craving Sicilian caciocavallo cheese for pizza night, no store is better equipped to transport taste buds to the Mediterranean. In-the-know foodies have turned to Bosa Foods for holiday entertaining needs for decades – thanks to salumeria and cheese of all kinds, and the best selection of Christmas panettone.
But Bosa Foods also offers gadgets and tools needed for Italian feasts, since sometimes you need the right tool to do great work. From stovetop espresso pots to pasta machines, gnocchi rollers and indispensable wooden spoons, Bosa Foods is geared to help home cooks take their food somewhere delicious.
Bosa Foods has always operated under a simple mission – provide authentic ingredients at great prices. It’s pasta, tomatoes, and olive oil that are the cornerstones of Italian cooking, and Vancouver’s premier selection is in Bosa Foods’ three aisles of pasta, their full aisle of tomato products, and their huge array of Mediterranean olive oils.
So, it’s no surprise that many of Vancouver’s chefs turn to Bosa Foods for ingredients, particularly those imported charcuteries and cheeses, like heavy-hitters Grana Padano and Parmesano Reggiano. And while Bosa Foods understands the importance of affordable, family-friendly staples, they also bring in exclusive and high-end ingredients, both in their deli cases and on their shelves, for the foodie who’s looking for something special.
Bosa Foods isn’t quite done with renovations, since their test kitchen and café upstairs are still due for some TLC over the winter, but their deli cases and house-made products shows they’re still a family-run store feeding their community, just like Augusto always did.
