But now, the specialty store is closing for good, after its aging storefront weathered so many storms.
"Twenty-eight years I've been coming here. This is like a family," said customer Peter Melendez.
It is a piece of Italy that stole a piece of everyone's heart. Customers came in looking for the perfect cut of meat -- but it is emotions that are now raw upon learning that Tony Turrigiano and George Firrantello are closing up shop.
"I loved what I do. And he loves what he does. That's why he's still working," Firrantello said.
"Let's put it this way -- I've been on the line for quite a few years and you figure -- 60 years," Turrigiano said.
They prepared fresh-made Italian sausage and mozzarella, a skill that they learned when they were 14 and 15 years old. However, after 26 years in business together at Bari Pork Store, they just can't afford to stay open.
"Let's put it this way - our people who eat this food are not around. They moved out of the neighborhood," Turrigiano said.
Turrigiano's family moved to Brooklyn from Italy when he was just 9 years old. He says back in the 1950s you could find a shop like this on just about any corner in Bensonhurst. Now it has become some sort of a relic in the ever-changing landscape of New York City.
"It takes away a little bit of its soul. Authenticity," said customer Donna Gifford. "It's like my kitchen -- it's an extension of my kitchen."
"A taste of a land far away, you know -- that I've never been to," said customer Jeff Katsman.
The closing date is set for June 30.
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