HistoryLink Tours

Our tour begins at the southwest corner of 1st and Pike, where you will see the front entrance to DeLaurenti. Peter DeLaurenti was a deliveryman for a Seattle bakery when he met Mamie Mustello on his route. She worked at her mother’s small grocery that opened in the lower passageways of the Market in 1928, selling pasta, eggs, butter and cheese. Peter and Mamie married in 1930, bought the store and renamed it Pete’s Italian Grocery in 1946. They soon expanded the specialty food selections and took on the name DeLaurenti. In 1972, son Louie took over the business and moved it to the current location at this busy main entrance of the Market.

The original building on this site dates to 1900, housing commercial businesses and a hall for the Knights of Pythias. In 1916 the building came to be part of the Market, remodeled and renamed the Economy Market building. An early tenant in this corner space was the third location of the regional drugstore chain Bartell Drugs, which opened here in 1908.

After three generations in the family, the store was sold in 2001 to a trio of investors who are committed to maintaining the DeLaurenti legacy. It continues to be a premier destination for outstanding cheeses and charcuterie, select wines and a vast array of gourmet foods, many from Italy. At the front corner counter they offer a selection of pizzas, panini, salads and other quick fare, with counter seating nearby looking out over First Avenue, and some tables upstairs in the wine area.

Continue through store and out the back door, angling left down the passageway toward Don & Joe’s Meats at the end of the corridor. You’ll see a pink neon sign above to the right, directing you to the next stop. But pause at the pillar at the corner of Don & Joe’s to see the plaque commemorating designation of the Pike Place Market Historic District.