A Motion To Adjourn

Letterie’s Italian Market is closing after a quarter-century of success

By Cary Shuman

Letterie’s Italian Market, a landmark store in Winthrop Center owned by Town Council President Jim Letterie, will be closing its doors on February 1 after 24 years in operation.

“We’ve gone through a lot in the last three to four years with our family, and I think it’s just the time to step back and enjoy life a little bit,” said Letterie, 65. “Life is just incredibly precious and incredibly short, and we want to try to enjoy it a little bit more.”

Letterie, who had been a general manager for Bertucci’s, said in 2001 he made a career decision to “try to continue the legacy that was left by the Abbatessa family with Terrie’s Food Market.”

“I like to say that we’ve been here almost a quarter-century, but the reality is that the concept has been here for almost 75 years with the Abbatessas starting in the late 1950s,” noted Letterie. “Their family left a great legacy which I think incredibly helped us get started.”

Letterie purchased the property at 67 Woodside Avenue and the business from the Abbatessa family.

Ingredients to success

With popular sandwiches such as its signature Italian sub, excellent customer service, and a highly regarded catering business, Letterie’s has maintained its exemplary reputation in the food business and its popularity in the town.

“It’s relatively easy to get people to come in and try a new product, and you can have really nice service and inviting atmosphere, but in the end the quality of food is going to help them to come back to your store,” said Letterie.

Three separate businesses

Though Letterie’s has been a big draw for sandwich afficionados, the store has evolved into “three separate businesses” through the last 24 years.

“We have cold cuts and groceries, and then we sell sandwiches, subs, wraps, and salads – and then there is the catering business,” explained Letterie. “That’s the way I like to look. It’s almost like running three distinct businesses. When I first started here, cold cuts were 80 percent of the business. Now it’s completely flipped the other way to sandwiches and catering. There was very little internet and there was no Uber Eats or DoorDash available way back when.”

Letterie said one of the big changes from his store’s opening in 2001 until today was the necessity to increase the prices of items.

“I had an old menu I just saw the other day where our Italian sub when we started here was $4.25,” said Letterie. “And now an Italian sub is $11.50 with the tax. So, we’ve been here not a long time in years, but a long time in the evolution of technology and such.”

Support from family

and the community

Though the store is a sole proprietorship, Jim Letterie has been greatly encouraged and supported by his family, including his wife, Dawn, currently in her 40^th year in the Winthrop school system, their son, Jake, a George Washington University graduate and daughter, Jenna, a national championship hockey standout at Middlebury College.

“Jake basically started helping out here when he was 10 years old, my daughter, Jenna, when she was 15,” said Letterie. “My wife has assisted here and my mother, Lorraine, spent the better part of 10-12 years helping out in any way she could. But it’s really been the kids of the community that have helped me over the years. The longevity of the employees has been great, and obviously without customers we wouldn’t have had a business for that long, so you have to thank the citizens of Winthrop.”

A love of Winthrop

Jim Letterie attended St. John School through the eighth grade, graduating in 1974 (“That’s 50 years ago, that’s crazy,” he jested).

He went on to attend Pope John XXIII High School in Everett, graduating in 1978.

Letterie rose through the ranks at Bertucci’s to become a general manager of the well-established chain of restaurants.

“It was a great run, it was an incredible company back then with fantastic ownership and a guy, Joey Crugnale, who had an incredible passion for food and it showed in its product,” said Letterie.

At the age of 40, Jim Letterie, with two young children ages four and two, made one of the biggest decisions of his life: the purchase of Terrie’s Food Market and the opening of Letterie’s.

“I sat down with my wife and said, ‘this is probably the last opportunity to do something like this. We both love Winthrop, and we were going to stay here.’  It was a huge decision, but it gave us the opportunity to create what I think is something special for the town and our family. My wife and I have been fortunate enough to work in this town. It’s been a great run for the both of us.”

Praise from Rep. Turco

Rep. Jeff Turco has been a loyal customer since his arrival in Winthrop.

“I join the entire Winthrop community in congratulating the Letterie family for their decision to retire and to close Letterie’s Market,” said Turco. “For twenty-five years, Letterie’s has been a hallmark of Winthrop Center and the go-to food store for Winthrop families.  Jim has employed countless of Winthrop’s youth, including two of my sons.  In doing so, he has helped teach our youth about personal responsibility and the dignity of work.  Personally, I will miss the steak tip and extra cheese sub!” said State Rep. Turco.

Employing many
Winthrop youths through the years

In addition to giving Mr. Turco’s two sons a job at the store, Jim Letterie has provided employment to other high school and college-age students.

“My first employee was John Cross, who came in when he was going into his junior year in high school,” recalled Letterie. “Now he’s a dad of three and a teacher at Winthrop High School who’s turned into an amazing man. It’s fantastic to see the kids come through after they’ve moved on in their lives.”

Reflecting on the past 24 years as a business owner and his service in town government, Jim Letterie said, “It’s been an incredible amount of time and effort, but it’s been very much worth it. I’ve enjoyed it and I know Dawn has loved teaching in Winthrop.  But it’s taken a lot of time. I said just recently that being town council president has turned into a full-time job, and now I’m glad to have the opportunity to spend much more time in that position. There is so much going on in the world right now, and even at the local level as well.”