The Forneria Messina (Bakery of Messina) is not just the story of a commercial activity, but it is a romance, it is above all the story of a family and once read, it surely will touch your heart because it is unique and genuine just like its dishes.
The history of the restaurant Forneria Messina, began in 1980 when Pietro Messina, then working as an assistant in his brother’s enterprise, one summer decided to rekindle the old wood stove where he often helped his mother to make the bread. In that year Gianmichele and today along with his sister, Lorena, passionately manages Forneria. Even though he was was just a child, he was pleasantly involved by the initiative of his father Pietro, this was a way to help his father and spend some of his time with him, and he once said, “I remember those summer months were like a big party, because the smell of freshly baked bread attracted a lot of people coming to San Martino for the summer holidays and I with my bike I started to make deliveries at the various houses of the township. ”
During the course of that summer Peter understood that to begin to make bread could be the way to work while remaining in contact with the family, so it was decided that they build a larger oven. At the beginning the activity was focused only on the production of bread for the neighbours, then with the help of Signora Elisabetta, Pietro’s wife, the business expanded to the production of pizzas, sfincioni and homemade biscuits, was not just the work, but it was an opportunity to keep the family together. Meanwhile Gianmichele and sisters, Fabiana and Lorena, collaborated with passion to the activity of the bakery, all the times when they were not busy because of school, their aim was of expanding the activities of the bakery extending it to the sale of dairy products such as cottage cheese, cheese and charcuterie from artisan producers.
Years passed, and Pietro and Elisabetta every day always with a smile on their faces were intent on ensuring the future of their children before allowing them to bring to an end their studies, then transferred to each of them the responsibilities and entrusting them with precise tasks. The couple had the important role of transmitting to their children all the enthusiasm and love for the family and for work. The year 2000 marked an important milestone for Gianmichele in the forefront and also reflected the Forneria, it was the year when he decided to get married to his girlfriend Elena. The two young spouses spent 40 days which saw them return to Sicily full of ideas and important projects for the family business. The first step was to transform the local small wine shop adjacent to the bakery inspired by the way Californians ran the wine world.
Years passed and in the meantime Gianmichele engaged himself in management, while his wife Elena with her sisters and brother Benny took care of the Forneria gastronomic production: meats, cheeses, bread, pizza, pasta, cakes, and finally sfincione the now famous “Bread cunzatu”. Now we are in 2009, the year that marked another important milestone because it was the year in which Pietro, realising that they have brought to completion all the family duties and for this they can finally enjoy his well-earned retirement, he decided to leave on to his children, who extended the activity in building a kitchen and the rooms in which to welcome customers and friends.
Today the business has grown, and with it also the number of staff and the passion for this activity that smells and talks about the house. The new staff members are immediately welcomed into the family, their attention will pamper you from beginning to the end of your stay to Forneria Messina as well as to make your experience thoroughly enjoyable and leave you with a good memory that will give you certainly one more reason to return soon to visit us. The staff members are almost all young people with new ideas, it is they who will delight you with imaginative dishes, colourful, light, well prepared, but still made following the teachings and traditions of our family.
Today’s business has grown, we have some collaborators, but they still work with the same philosophy and with the same passion with which Pietro’s father and mother Elisabetta have created in the company over 30 years ago, always with Sweetness Taste and Quality!
