Ottavio was born of a family tradition of Italian food since the 1920's. Ottavio's Nonno & Nonna owned a pasticceria, bar & gelateria in Torino, Italy, for over 40 years.
Ubalda, the daughter of the family, her husband and two children, immigrated to Victoria, Canada, in 1978, where they broadened their products to include hand rolled breads in addition to northern Italian cookies, pastries, cakes & gelato. They created the venerable institution, The Italian Bakery, on Quadra Street at Tolmie, where they were the first to introduce butter croissants & Italian pastries to the west coast of Canada. The tradition of baking excellence & family tradition is continued into the third generation by Alberto & Janet Pozzolo at the original Italian Bakery location.
Ottavio is another third generation family business started in 1997 by Monica Pozzolo & Andrew Moyer in Oak Bay. As the proprietors & sole employees (with the help of Ubalda in the shop) we opened Ottavio with fresh bread & pastries from the Italian Bakery, nine cheeses, Italian pantry items, an espresso machine & four stools at the counter.
Nine years later Ottavio is Vancouver Island's #1 Delicatessen & Specialty Grocery retailer, with Monica & Andrew at the helm of a shop with 22 employees, 240 artisanal cheeses, unique cured meats & the city's best olives, an unrivaled selection of specialty dried goods from olive oils to pastas & Tuscan chocolate, Italian Bakery breads, our own organic & local fruit gelato, a licensed cafe & terrazzo offering light fare, Illy coffee & lunches & special events to enliven Oak Bay Village & encourage & strengthen our local food community.