Chef Michael Angeloni developed a true passion for cooking by learning how to make pasta with his grandmother in her basement.
He now oversees both the Union Chicken and Amano kitchens at Upper Canada Mall’s new Market & Co. but like many business owners, it was a journey to get here. Sitting in a booth surrounded by workers preparing for opening day, Angeloni said there was a time when he was just a high school student with no idea where he wanted to go in life.
“It was my high school guidance teacher that suggested I get into a trade,” he said.
He is first generation Canadian as his father was born in Italy and his mother in Poland. But it was his grandmother who shared her knowledge of traditional Italian cuisine.
Angeloni worked in a few restaurants and eventually landed under the tutelage of a well-known chef in Toronto. But he and a friend, Adam Teolis, always dreamed of opening their own restaurant one day. When given the opportunity, they pitched their concept for Amano and cooked for Open Concept Hospitality.
The pitch was well received.
Now with five partners, Open Concept Hospitality has expanded Union Chicken and Amano further into the GTA, with Newmarket being the group’s fifth location.
“This market concept is so alluring, it will bring people in and they can make a day trip of it” he said of Market & Co. “We are doing as much as we can to keep things local.”
Union Chicken and Amano pride themselves on making everything from scratch and to keep the taste of the highest quality, it comes down to ingredients, Angeloni said.
“The chickens, floor, eggs and whatever else we can source comes from Ontario or Canada,” he said. “In Italy they don’t buy ingredients from Canada, they use whatever they can buy at local shops on the way home and make it for dinner.”
Even before Market & Co. was open, Angeloni connected with Seed to Sausage, another vendor on site, to source some of their ingredients for the restaurants.
While Angeloni is currently a Toronto resident, he admits after spending time in Newmarket, he may consider becoming a local resident in the near future.
Angeloni’s story is just one of many of the vendors who now consider themselves part of the Market & Co. family.
The market features a number of established vendors with a mix of those who are opening their first retail locations in the new space.
The market features Amadeus Patisserie, Bake Three Fifty, First Batch, Floral Escence, Humble Roots Organic, Kitchen & Company demonstration kitchen, Ma’s Best Quality Soups, Midici The Neapolitan Pizza Company, Newmarket Olive Oil Co., Our Farm Organic Bakery, Pier 87 Fish Market and Grill, Ray Woodey’s Craft Chippery, Seed to Sausage Meatery, Starbucks, Sugar King Factory, Sweet Jesus, The Wine Shop and Tasting Room, Village Juicery and Vince’s Market.
A little bit of something for everyone.
For more information, visit Shopmarketandco.com.
