by Gary Sajdak Driving through the intersec�on of Buffalo and Elmgrove Roads in Gates, you can smell the boiling pot of tomato sauce emana�ng from the kitchen at Aga�na’s Restaurant. You can be sure that owner Pat Fornataro is there, in his apron, preparing the secret family recipe for the evening dinner crowd. Since 1984, Rochester area foodies have enjoyed the family’s sauce in their meals. Today, as a result of customer’s requests, you can get their favorite sauce at major local supermarkets and retail loca�ons. “Customers would ask to buy our sauce by the quart,” says owner Barbara Fornataro. “Our tradi�onal sauce was so much in demand that we looked into bo�ling it.” With the produc�on and marke�ng help of Paulie Gugliamo, owner of Cra� Cannery (Formerly Permac) in Bergen, Aga�na’s introduced their Tradi�onal Tomato and Vodka sauces, in jars, ready for retail. In addi�on to being available for sale at the restaurant, the Aga�na’s team began selling their sauce at the Greece Ridge Mall Farmer’s Market. Pre-COVID-19, the family wanted to do something different to keep the restaurant name relevant, and find a way to make their sauce and food available to their customers. “We wanted to do something different,” said Marcy Fornataro, “So we purchased and customized a food truck to take on loca�on at fes�vals, events, food truck rodeos, and at the Public Market.” Offering their famous Arancini Rice Balls, Chicken Parm Sliders, Chicken French Bites and Homemade Meatballs, the truck became a fan favorite.
In the middle of 2020, during COVID-19 shutdown, Manager Marcy Fornataro started pounding the pavement, visi�ng numerous local and regional delis and supermarkets, asking to sell the sauce at their loca�ons. “We had some great response from many loca�ons in the area,” said Fornataro. “Many of the decision makers are our customers, and are aware of the popularity of our sauce, so they agreed to offer our sauce on their shelves.” During the COVID- 19 “shutdown,” Aga�na’s stayed open and were very busy with takeouts. “We didn’t know what to expect during the shutdown,” says Barbara, “We were happy to stayand very busy on Fridays and Saturdays, and the phones were ringing off the hook. We are very thankful to our dedicated staff and customers for their support during this challenging �me.” Marcy says, “We are excited that our dining room is open and people are star�ng to come out more and more. We love seeing our customers in person again.” In addi�on to being available at the restaurant, Aga�na’s sauce can be found at Wegmans, Tops, Calabresellas Deli, ANG Market, Food Town, Rubino’s, Olindo’s, Cu�a’s Deli and more.
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