Tampa’s iconic Alessi Bakery is moving, expanding

After 53 years at their West Tampa location, the fourth-generation Alessi family business is expanding to a larger space just a block down Cypress Street.

The first order of business: it’s Alessi Food Market, not just Alessi Bakery. 

“We’ll offer new options alongside staples. Coffee and açaí in the mornings, bowls and salads at lunch, and both a rotisserie chicken offering and pizza in the evenings,” says current Alessi Bakeries President and CEO Phil Alessi, Jr.

A full liquor bar will make it a no-brainer option for happy hour and WiFi will draw laptop workers. This is all in addition to the plan for more varied flavors of classic desserts like cannoli, flan, and tres leches cake. Alessi’s new incarnation in the historic Tampa Letter Carriers building at 3003 W. Cypress Street will have more than triple the public floor space. Renovation work adds a mezzanine and an exterior patio. Summit Design + Build is the general contractor. JVB Architect LLC is the architecture firm.

An iconic Tampa brand that just celebrated its 113th anniversary, Alessi is known for its holiday petting zoos, colorful “pick your candidate” sugar cookies during election season, and notable specialties like scachatta, a cold tomato pie pizza made with pecorino romano cheese.

“My grandfather Nicolo brought scachatta from Sicily — ‘schiacciata’ means smashed bread in Italian,” Alessi explains.

As a Tampa native, I remember eating scachatta at every holiday gathering, though it’s available year round. That sweet tomato sauce and eggy dough was always a comforting flavor.

With a target open date of early November, Alessi continues to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the community, now in a larger, more well-rounded setting.  The current space will likely be sold once the new location is fully operational.

For more information, visit Alessi Bakery.