The wall of recipes at Borgatti’s
Photo Emily Swanson
Borgatti’s Ravioli and Egg Noodles in Little Italy — family-run since 1932 — is a carb-lover’s dream.
Shelves are stocked with colorful dried fettuccine in flavors like red pepper, basil and spinach. Rolled cavatelle, like little shells, are scooped out of a bin. Noodles are to order cut from fresh pasta sheets to the customer’s chosen width. And then there are racks upon racks of their famous cheese-filled ravioli.
To the Borgatti family, it’s all part of the job they love.
“It’s a rewarding experience, being able to work with my family,” said Chris Borgatti, whose wife Joan and children Chris Jr. and Liz — the fourth generation — all have a role in running the business.
Each day is all hands on deck. Daily tasks from cleaning to pasta making to shipping to repairing machines are handled by the family. Though Borgatti said it required “a lot of sacrifice” when the kids were young, they look back fondly on their unique upbringing.
“How many kids got to use cornmeal as a sandbox?” said Chris Jr. with a laugh.
Over the years, the business has grown from its humble roots as a tiny storefront first opened by Lindo and Maria Borgatti from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, who married in 1907, immigrated to the U.S. and had eight sons — one of whom was Chris Borgatti’s father, Mario. Chris, who has worked in the shop since he was 18, inherited the shop and has continued the legacy with his own family.
Nowadays, many people know the Borgatti name and its numerous products and assume it’s a big company — but everything at the shop is made from scratch, “not factory mass-produced,” said Liz.
Chris Jr. added that some customers are shocked to learn that everything they offer is “made by, like, three people.”
Chris Jr. and Liz say they actually tried to stay away from the family business, and their parents encouraged them to…
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