The Historic Cheese Shop That Supplied Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Store

In her recently released memoir, "Be Ready When The Luck Happens," Ina Garten tells of her hectic Wednesdays when she would drive to New York City to restock her iconic store The Barefoot Contessa in West Hampton Beach. She picked up her supplies at her favorite food shops, one of which was Alleva Dairy, where she bought fresh-made mozzarella and smoked mozzarella. Up until 2023, Alleva Dairy had been famous for being the oldest cheese shop in America but had to close due to financial difficulties stemming from losses during the pandemic. But with over 130 years in the business, Alleva has had quite the run. 

Alleva Dairy started in 1892 when Italian immigrant Pina Alleva opened the shop in New York's historic Little Italy. At that time, recently arrived Italian immigrants were digging the subway tunnels and making much better wages than they had in Italy. With more cash on hand, they purchased American ingredients for their hometown cooking, thus creating Italian-American cuisine, and Alleva Dairy was the ideal purveyor for Italian cheeses. The shop stayed in the Alleva family for four generations, until 2014 when cousin — and "The Sopranos" actor — John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia and pal Tony Danza purchased it. Ciarcia died in 2015, and his wife, Karen King, took control of the business.

In its heyday, Alleva Dairy was not only supplying Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa with fresh mozzarella and ricotta; it also worked with many New York pizza parlors. The pandemic caused great economic suffering, resulting in the closing of long-established businesses, and Alleva Dairy was among those affected by the downturn. Karen King had attempted to keep Alleva Dairy afloat by opening a cafe — but to no avail. She had fallen behind in rent, accumulating $628,000 she owed the landlord. Legal skirmishes ensued, ending with the landlord forgiving the debt as long as King paid $31,000 and vacated the premises by March 5, 2023. 

King made appeals to government officials, senators, and the governor's office, but it was all for naught. She was grief-stricken over the loss of the family business, but she had no choice except to close shop. 

In January 2024, during a purported unpermitted renovation, the building's chimney collapsed, creating a huge hole on the first floor that spilled out onto the corner of Grand Street. Investigators found that the building had been seriously destabilized and posed a public hazard, and the city ordered its demolition. King eventually found a new location for Alleva Dairy in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, though plans for an official reopening date have not been announced as of this writing.