By Kaaren Valenta

Paula Romanzi grew up in Rome and cherishes her memories of small cafes there where people gathered for food, conversation, and relaxation.

So when she grew tired of working in the corporate world, she began to daydream about a job that would combine her interest in food and entertaining with a small European-style café that she could call her own.  One day she saw an advertisement in The Bee that would make her dream come true.

“The owners of Coffee Delight had decided to sell,” she said. “It was a perfect location, a perfect size for what I wanted to do. I talked about it with my fiance for several weeks – then I decided to do it.”

In the third week of October Paula Romanzi and H. Marco Kichler bought the business, located at 49 Church Hill Road, from Karin Steisel and Ann Lee. Soon a new sign, “Paula’s Piccolo Café,” was ready to be installed.

“Piccolo means very small in Italian, and that’s what I wanted, a very small place where I could do breakfasts and lunch,” Ms Romanzi said.  “I am specializing in lunches – sandwiches, salads, quiche, homemade breads and soups.”

There will still be the flavored coffees, Ami’s bagels, and pastries that have already made this Church Hill Road location so popular. But the lunch menu will be expanded significantly, and a new line of pastries from Luigi’s Bakery in Trumbull will be introduced.

“We will be taking orders from customers for birthday cakes and other baked goods from Luigi’s, and they will be delivered here,” Ms Romanzi said. “We will be the only place in town where you can get it.”

Working with Paula Romanzi in the business will be her son, Benjamin, 25, who until recently had been working in restaurants in ski resorts in Colorado, and long-time staff members Virginia Hettenbach and Sue Tarshis.

“My other son, Alexander, who is 27, is a fireman in Waterbury. He made the sign for my business. He’s my Michaelangelo, very artistic, ” Ms Romanzi said.

Banjamin, worked at My Place Restaurant in Newtown around the time that restaurant moved to its current location in the old post office building.  “John, Mark, and Louise (Tambascio) were great to work with,” he said. “I like working in restaurants and have done just about everything in them, cooking, waiting tables, even washing dishes.”

Paula’s Piccolo Café will look a little different, with white tablecloths, new café curtains and a blue-and-white color scheme to give it a more European look.

The menu will feature daily specials with a changing variety of soups, quiches, salads, sandwiches and wraps, along with “light breakfast” items.

Available every day will be about a dozen sandwiches including old favorites like chicken or tuna salad as well as specialty sandwiches such as the Roma (portabello mushrooms, ham and Swiss cheese on Italian bread), 3 P’s in the Pod (provolone, roasted peppers, and portabella mushrooms in a pita bread pod), Tricolore  (fresh mozzarella, tomato, romaine and pesto cream on focaccia bread), and California (ham or turkey, cucumber, sprouts, red onion, avocado, and pesto mayonnaise on a choice of bread). All sandwiches are served with tortilla chips and salsa, and most are priced in the $2.75 to $4.90 range.

Featured salads include a Quick Italian (romaine, mozzarella, tomato, and olives), an Antipasto, and the Nutty Vegetarian (carrots, mushrooms, radicchio, romaine, walnuts, and orange slices).

Paula encourages customers to call ahead and order lunch: 426-3770.  For Christmas and other events, she will be offering custom-made gift baskets.

Paula’s Piccolo Café is open 6:30 am to 5 pm weekdays, 7:30 am to 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday.