This is the story of a schiacciata, the traditional Tuscan flatbread. But it is also a story of a dream and an adventure that began in Florence, carried on in some of Italy’s major cities and reached the spotlight of billboards in the proximities of New York’s Times Square.
This is the story of Antico Vinaio and a man named Tommaso Mazzanti, who carried on in his father’s footsteps and invented the world’s most famous schiacciata, an honor initially awarded in 2017.
Antico Vinaio: the owner Tommaso Mazzanti invented the world’s most famous “schiacciata”
The story of Antico Vinaio began in the 1990s, when the Mazzanti family took over a small rotisserie in Via dei Neri, Florence, just 250 meters away from the Uffizi Gallery.
A few years later, the Mazzanti family decided to expand its business and take over Antico Vinaio, the store on the other side of the street.
The Antico Vinaio was a historic winery that had been in business for more than one hundred years. Tommaso and his family filled the new place with culinary history, serving schiacciate (not a sandwich, nor a focaccia) stuffed with cured meats, cheese and a number of sauces.
Tommaso’s foresight, energy and product quality are the reason behind the endless lines of people outside the store. The last few years have been those in which he has dreamt big, going beyond the Florence city limits.
Rome, Milan and a store in I Gigli shopping center in Campi Bisenzio have been the new homes for Antico Vinaio to set up shop.
Ever since the month of October, however, people have started lining up on Manhattan’s 8th St.
By following the line you’ll get to the scent of the schiacciata, served hot and filled with Tuscan cured meat and cheeses, with typical sauces and pickles. This is where Tommaso, together with Joe and Tanya Bastianich, has opened his All’Antico Vinaio NYC.
Code word_: Bada come la fuma!_ The Antico Vinaio team will understand.