Dalmoros Fresh Italian traces its roots to Italy. It all started nearly a decade ago when David Caruso Jr. and his father visited the country.
They dined at a fast-casual restaurant called DalMoros Fresh Pasta To Go and were inspired by the concept, leading them to license the brand and bring it to the United States.
Now, five years after the Caruso family opened their first location in St. Petersburg, they have announced more nationwide expansion plans. Establishments in Manhattan, New York; Austin and San Antonio, Texas and Washington D.C. are in the works. Additionally, the company is finalizing a deal to open a restaurant in Philadelphia.
Dalmoros already has locations at the Armature Works food hall in Tampa, The Mall at Millenia in Orlando, Faneuil Hall Marketplace/Quincy Market and South Station in Boston and CanalSide Food Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Manhattan eatery will be across the street from Penn Station and is scheduled to open by October, Caruso said. The Texas restaurants, which will be inside Walmart stores, are also expected to open this fall. Additionally, the establishment at the Pentagon City Mall in Washington, D.C. is anticipated to welcome customers by the end of the year.
“You want to take advantage of opportunities that are in front of you,” he explained. “There’s a lot of build your own today, whether it’s a build your own Mediterranean bowl, burrito bowl or rice bowl. There’s not a lot of build your own Italian concepts. So, we felt as if there was a gap in the market.”
In 2012, DalMoros Fresh Pasta To Go was founded in Venice, Italy by Gabriele Dal Moro. The establishment sells homemade pasta and sauces in to-go-style packaging.
“While we were traveling, we saw little pasta shops throughout Italy producing fresh pasta right in front of the customer,” Caruso said. “Typically when you think of fresh pasta here in the United States, you think of a fine dining restaurant where you need to dedicate a couple of hours and spend a couple hundred bucks.”
The Caruso family opened the St. Pete location as DalMaros Fresh Pasta to Go, at 653 Central Avenue, in May 2021. Earlier this year, they revamped the concept into Dalmoros Fresh Italian and moved the restaurant to 204 First Avenue N., which is near the Jannus Live entertainment venue.
“It allows us to have a bigger space,” Caruso explained. “It’s more high profile so people can see the brand a lot more and we can cater more to that everyday consumer who is living or working in downtown St. Pete.”
As part of the rebrand, the menu was expanded to include items beyond pasta. Currently, the Caruso family is rebranding the Armature Works establishment and hopes to launch the new menu by mid-August.
Caruso added that Dalmoros Fresh Italian is a family business. He serves as the president of the company. Not only is Caruso’s father involved, but also his brother, uncle and cousins.
“It’s very important when you can have family members that you can rely on,” he said. “It allows us to be able to grow in an efficient way without worrying and looking behind our backs saying ‘hey, what’s going on at this location?,’ because I know the people who are overseeing it have our best interests in mind.”
Dalmoros Fresh Italian website