The secret recipe behind a 50-year-old bakery in Montreal’s Little Italy

Alati-Caserta, a staple in Montreal’s Little Italy, is turning 50, and the bakery has plenty to celebrate.

On Sunday, Alati-Caserta threw a party and treated its loyal customers to free food and live music to show appreciation to the clients who have kept the bakery in business for so long.

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The shop originally opened on St. Viateur and Clarke streets back in 1968.

The bakery later moved to its current location on Dante Street in 1979.

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One of the original founders, Vittorio Caldarone, is still very involved in the business, with his son, Marco Caldarone, and his wife, Linda Savoca, mainly on the front line.

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“My dad’s here, my mom helps out, my stepmom helps out, my kids are involved in the business — it’s fantastic,” said Marco. “I don’t see them too much at home because of the hours, but they’re here at the bakery.

“It kind of unites us as a family.”

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The bakery sells Italian classics like cannolis, cakes and cookies.

Vittorio, 79, still makes one of their bestsellers, the sfogliatella, by hand.

“They’re almost part of the family,” said Francesco Miele, who has been a customer for the last 30 years. “Why? Because whenever there’s a special occasion, a special cake to order, we call them, we reserve.”

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Over the years, the owners say they’ve only ever made a few slight changes.

Adding some new flavours to the classic cannoli, like Oreo and pistachio, is one of them.

But the owners say that what’s kept them around for so long is staying true to who they are.

“Things have changed but yet have not changed,” said Savoca.