This week, the Union Street Market will officially welcome new flavors to the East Hall this week– made-from-scratch pasta dishes, salads, sandwiches, and desserts from
Pasta di Guy.
Pasta di Guy is owned by Chef Guy Carmeli, who says customers can expect fresh food at an affordable price point.
“We're going to make the pasta from scratch daily basis,” he says. “We're making the sauces daily, fresh from scratch, even the dressings. So as much as we can, the majority of our stuff is from scratch and fresh. With the good ingredients like the flour, like semolina flour, much more authentic than most of the chains. It's a good, high quality but in a fresh space environment and in affordable prices.”
He says his enthusiasm for pasta ties directly to his family’s ancestry in Italy.
The location at Electric Works is Carmeli’s third restaurant location. Pasta di Guy as a food truck in Florida in 2019. The following year he opened a permanent location in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Then in 2022, he opened a second location in Trinity, Florida.
His Flordia locations have been recognized in the past with awards such as the 2023 People’s Choice for Best Italian Restaurant from the “Tampa Bay Times” and Best of Florida: Italian Restaurants in “The Guide to Florida.”
Now, as he opens a location in Fort Wayne, Carmeli says he’s looking forward to opening a location in his wife’s hometown, especially within the Union Street Market.
“Basically, what makes me move here– it's my wife,” he says. “It's my wife's hometown. We always come here for holidays and she always wanted us to open a location in Fort Wayne. Once I saw the food hall in person, that's when I started to get intrigued, like interested in opening in Fort Wayne. I thought it was a good opportunity.”
When asked Carmeli says that there are quite a few menu items he looks forward to sharing with customers at the Union Street Market, like Chef Guy’s Favorite Pasta– a Strozzapreti pasta (or Chef’s pasta as he calls it) with Vodka sauce and Italian sausage.
“For me, I did a little bit spicy, but we don't serve it as a default spicy,” he says. “But people can request it.”
Carmeli also shares fan favorites from the menu, like Alfredo and Ravioli.
“Alfredo– people go crazy for our Alfredo,” he says. “Like, I sell more Alfredo than water. The Alfredo is definitely a winner. Then we have some stuff like fried cheese ravioli, which is a little bit different and cool.”
Before he was a chef, Carmeli worked as a computer engineer but opted to leave that behind for something he was more passionate about– cooking.
Carmeli, who is a graduate of the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in London, worked at various restaurants, including a Michelin Star restaurant, before starting his own venture.
He says the reception of Pasta di Guy in Fort Wayne has been full of excitement.
“I'm very happy and grateful,” Carmeli says. “I get a lot of positive feedback about us opening and a lot of excitement which I'm probably more excited than all of them.”
Union Street Market Marketing Manager Molly Conner says it’s exciting to see the variety of options at the Market grow, creating a one-of-a-kind experience in Fort Wayne.
“It’s been really exciting to watch the East Hall especially grow,” Conner says. “This hall was always designed to be a marketplace where you could get specialty groceries…Seeing more merchants come into this side has been really exciting. Guy, his pasta, you know, you can come here and get a bowl of pasta, but you can always buy fresh pasta here and jarred pasta sauces so that does add to that grocer component that we’re really aiming for on this side of this hall.”
While the East Hall is gaining a new merchant, the West Hall said goodbye to Lunar Infusions. Owner Sarah Trombley says the decision allows her to focus on operations at her brewery in South Whitley and to find new ways to serve the community.
In a Facebook post, Trombley says, “It was a decision that was not made lightly but I am choosing to shift my focus. Overall, it was a great experience! I am blessed to have been part of such an innovative project in our community. I am humbled by all of you who came to support us there. I will miss it very much and I will continue to be a proud supporter of all of the wonderful merchants there. Saying goodbye is bittersweet but I am excited to serve our community in new and creative ways in 2024.”
Customers can still purchase Lunar Infusion Kombucha at Kekionga Craft Company at Union Street Market.
Market representatives say they wish Trombley much success in the future. There have been no announcements at this time concerning a vendor filling the space left by Lunar Infusions.
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o learn more about the Union Street Market, click here.
To learn more about Pasta di Guy, click here.
To learn more about Lunar Infusions, click here.