This Giant Italian Wonderland In Virginia Makes Fresh Pasta Daily And Piles On The Comfort Food

The floor tiles here came from the same Italian company that supplied bricks for the Duomo in Florence.

Yes, that Duomo. And the place they cover sells subs, pizza slices, and gelato.

The store stretches across 6,000 square feet. That’s more than twice the size of the family’s original shop.

Shelves hold imported olive oil, sauces, cheeses, and house-made ravioli, so this is a lot more than a quick lunch stop.

I like how a family passport and old photos hang in the dining room. It makes a busy Virginia market feel like someone’s kitchen.

So what happens when a family business decides to go big without losing its heart? The answer comes with a hard roll and a cannoli.

A Family Story Built Into Every Corner Of The Room

The Italian Store began in 1980 as a small family business in Arlington. Its founders wanted to offer the Italian foods they remembered from New York, including fresh mozzarella, substantial subs, and thin-crust pizza.

Westover became the second location in May 2015. The Lyon Village original remains open, so Westover represents an expansion rather than a replacement.

The new shop took over a former convenience-store space and expanded the concept to about 6,000 square feet, leaving considerably more room for dining and grocery shelves.

Natural woodwork, warm brick, and green accents give the interior a look that combines neighborhood deli with modern market. Historic family photographs and passports connect that newer setting to the family’s earlier generations.

The floor is another talking point. Its Tuscan terracotta tiles were manufactured by a company that also produces bricks used in the care of Florence’s famous Duomo.

It is an unexpected architectural connection for a store where pizza and sandwiches are everyday business.

The design still keeps the original family’s informal approach to Italian food at its heart.

Pasta And Ravioli Ready For Dinner

Homemade-style ravioli is an easy way to make a weeknight meal feel a little more special.

The Italian Store offers pasta in several forms, from dried shapes to prepared and frozen options suited to cooking at home.

The business has long used family recipes for its sauces and pasta dishes.

Some frozen varieties are produced by a specialist supplier using those recipes, while other pasta selections are imported. Together they offer plenty of variety.

A pack of cheese-filled ravioli can become dinner with tomato sauce and grated cheese. For another direction, pair pasta with pesto, vegetables, or one of the market’s olive oils.

Ready-to-heat entrees broaden the possibilities. The shop has offered classics such as baked ziti, eggplant Parmigiana, and other prepared dishes, making it useful even for a night with little cooking time.

Different pasta shapes suit different sauces, and the cheese counter adds inspiration. For a Virginia household planning an easy dinner, a stocked pasta shelf can turn a quick grocery stop into a satisfying supper plan.

Your Sub Order Is About To Become A Big Decision

Mortadella, prosciutto, Genoa salami, and capicola walk into a sandwich. That’s not a joke, it’s lunch at the deli counter here.

The menu features the Milano, layered with two kinds of Italian ham, provolone, and Genoa salami.

The Capri combines prosciutto, salami, provolone, and spiced capicola, while the Genoa keeps things simpler with mortadella, salami, and provolone.

Then there is the Muffaletta. Round Sicilian bread holds a generous mixture of deli meats, cheese, olive condiment, sweet peppers, and the shop’s seasoned dressing. It is a different experience from a long sub roll.

Bread choices include hard and soft Italian rolls, with other options available for gourmet sandwiches. Lettuce, onions, oregano, and peppers can add crunch, freshness, and heat according to preference.

Hot choices include meatballs with melted cheese, sausage with peppers, and chicken Parmigiana.

Subs are made to order for a substantial lunch. In northern Virginia, that traditional deli approach has been central to the family’s business since its earliest days.

New York Style Slices Are Calling Your Name

Folding a big, floppy slice in half is a skill worth practicing. Luckily, The Italian Store at Westover gives you plenty of chances.

The kitchen makes New York-style pizza with fresh dough, a thin crust, tomato sauce, and whole-milk mozzarella. Classic cheese and pepperoni slices keep the choice straightforward for anyone in a hurry.

The Bianca heads in another direction. Garlic, olive oil, imported fontina, and mozzarella create a rich white pizza with plenty of flavor even without tomato sauce.

Nino’s combines spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, and a white garlic sauce. The Suprema is more elaborate, adding fresh tomatoes, pepperoni, onion, Italian sausage, and black olives.

For something with a thicker base, Sicilian pizza offers a square-cut alternative. Individual slices and whole pies are both part of the menu, making it possible to grab lunch or bring dinner home for several people.

Calzones add another choice, with fillings such as ham and ricotta or spinach and mozzarella. A warm calzone offers one more reason to order lunch before browsing the aisles.

Early Birds Get Espresso Before The Shelves Wake Up

Most of the store opens at 10 a.m., but coffee fans get a head start. The Andiamo coffee counter opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends.

Espresso, cappuccino, latte, and Americano appear alongside brewed coffee, cold brew, and hot chocolate. The counter uses illy coffee, giving the morning service a distinctly Italian cafe influence.

Breakfast pastries take the choice beyond an ordinary cup of coffee. Cornetti come plain or with sweet fillings, while savory versions include spinach and ham.

Blueberry and cranberry scones share space with muffins in flavors such as cinnamon crunch, pumpkin, and chocolate chip.

There are also soft Italian doughnuts known as bomboloni, offered plain or with cream filling. A pastry and cappuccino make a simple breakfast.

The separate opening schedule is handy for commuters who want a morning drink before the deli and grocery shop begin full service. Later, it becomes a busy lunch destination.

By noon, espresso orders give way to pizza slices and deli sandwiches.

Save Room Because The Dessert Case Will Find You

Dessert gets serious attention here. The gelato selection alone gives a lunch visit a tempting final stop.

Cannoli bring crisp pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta cream and chocolate chips. Their contrast between crunchy exterior and soft filling makes them a classic choice after pizza or a sub.

Sfogliatella offers a different kind of pastry, with delicately layered dough enclosing a ricotta filling accented by citrus.

The Neapolitan pastry layers flaky puff pastry with smooth vanilla custard, creating a dessert that is almost as entertaining to cut as it is to eat.

Other sweets include maple-glazed pastries, Italian-style doughnuts, and tiramisu layered with mascarpone and espresso-soaked biscuits. The assortment makes it possible to take a box home for later rather than choosing only one dessert.

Gelato provides a cooler finish, and the coffee menu includes affogato, which combines gelato with a pour of espresso. That pairing turns two separate treats into one uncomplicated dessert.

A cannoli for now and a custard pastry for later is a very reasonable plan.

Wander The Aisles Like You Just Landed In Italy

Hard-to-find Italian products fill these shelves. Some arrive directly from Italy, while others come through longtime suppliers in Brooklyn.

The grocery selection includes olive oils, sauces, pasta, imported cheeses, and cured meats. A shopper planning an antipasto platter can find several ingredients in one visit, then add crackers or bread for serving.

Specialty dried pasta includes bronze-cut shapes with textured surfaces that hold sauce.

Cheeses invite closer consideration, too. Fresh mozzarella works beautifully with tomatoes and basil, while aged varieties can finish a pasta dish or anchor a simple appetizer.

For home cooking, a few jars and pantry ingredients offer plenty of flexibility. Tomato sauce, pasta, olive oil, and a wedge of cheese can become the foundation for several meals without an elaborate shopping list.

The connection between the market and kitchen gives its aisles a practical purpose. The store’s Italian products reflect a family business shaped by food traditions that crossed the Atlantic.

That makes this corner of Virginia particularly appealing for anyone who enjoys exploring unfamiliar ingredients while picking up something practical for dinner.

Grab A Patio Seat And Let Westover Do Its Thing

Sunshine and a sub make a pretty great team. Luckily, there’s an outdoor patio area for enjoying your goodies right outside.

Indoor seating provides another option, surrounded by wood details and the everyday activity of a neighborhood market. The combination means a visitor can sit down for lunch or pick up a pizza to take home.

The Westover location is at 5837 Washington Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia. It sits within a compact shopping district where neighboring storefronts are easy to reach on foot, making a short stroll a natural addition after eating.

For the main shop, hours are generally 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The coffee counter follows its earlier morning schedule, so the right arrival time depends on whether the plan involves a cappuccino, a grocery trip, or a full lunch.

Parking accommodates grocery shoppers, while the patio is appealing in pleasant weather.

Between pasta, pizza, subs, and pastries, one visit can cover a meal now and ingredients for dinner at home.