Step into Paisano’s Italian Bakery in Sarasota and you are in for a full sensory experience. The aromas—a mouthwatering medley of butter, sugar, and freshly baked bread—greet you at the door and invite your eyes to feast hungrily upon the long glass showcases packed with trays of flaky pastries, cakes with swirls of icing and cream, and cookies of all sizes, shapes, colors, and flavors.
Tucked into a nondescript strip mall on Stickney Point Road, Paisano’s has been delighting customers with authentic Italian baked goods since 1998.
“Paisano means an old friend, like someone you knew from back in the old country,” says Laurie Moretti, who opened the bakery with her late husband, David. That spirit of warmth and tradition infuses everything inside.
Originally from Rhode Island, the Morettis moved to Sarasota to be closer to family—and brought their bakery ambitions with them. David, who passed away in 2017, honed his craft as a “bum baker,” hopping between bakeries in Providence’s Italian neighborhood of Federal Hill and learning the best of what each had to offer.
“It didn’t give him the greatest reputation,” Laurie laughs, “but we ended up with a big stack of recipes and formulas we still use today. We’re as close to a New England–style bakery as you can get.”
Paisano’s has grown from one modest storefront into a double-unit Sarasota fixture. Every item is made in-house, with a weekly ingredient list that includes a staggering 650 pounds of flour, 450 pounds of sugar, and 100 pounds of butter. Locals line up for morning coffee and a bite of nostalgia: creamy cannoli, crunchy biscotti, or perhaps the bakery’s top seller: sfogliatelle—a flaky, shell-shaped pastry filled with sweetened ricotta and dusted with powdered sugar.
But Paisano’s isn’t just about sweets. Savory offerings include an array of Italian breads, rolls, calzones, and focaccia. Their Rhode Island–style pizza strips—a crunchy, airy crust topped with a bright, herby tomato sauce—have developed a cult following. Their grab-and-go meals, including lasagna, stuffed shells, meatballs, eggplant roulade, and Italian wedding soup, taste like they came straight from a grandmother’s kitchen—because they did. Many of the recipes were passed down from David’s grandmother, a native of Naples, Italy, who once ran the kitchen at Providence’s Biltmore Hotel.
Still, what draws customers back is more than just food.
“We try to make real connections,” Laurie says. “Some people come in after a hard day or just need to talk. We greet them with a smile and maybe a little sweet indulgence for the soul.”
Though David is gone, his legacy lingers in every slice of cake and spoonful of sauce. “He still has a presence here,” Laurie says softly. “Absolutely.”
Paisano’s Italian Bakery
2732 Stickney Point Rd, Sarasota
941-926-8422
PaisanosItalianBakery.com
