Latest / Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam / A Coffee with Teresa Spinelli from The Italian Centre

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A Coffee with Teresa Spinelli from The Italian Centre · Coffee In The Park with Jennifer and Cam

0:13
Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome to another edition of the ABA Coffee In The Park.
0:17
My name is Cam Milliken, and I'm your host, and I'm here with my co-host extraordinaire, Jennifer Herrick, the Executive Director of the Acheson Business Association.
0:26
Good morning, Jennifer.
0:27
Good morning, Cam, how are you today?
0:28
I'm fantastic, the sun is shining.
0:31
It's a beautiful day today.
0:33
It's a little breezy, though.
0:34
Yeah, a little bit breezy, but it's still winter, so we can live with that.
0:37
That's right.
0:38
So it's pretty awesome.
0:39
So we just wanna remind everybody that we are coming to you from the Wall Coffee Roasters in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson.
0:48
That's right.
0:48
So if you hear some noises in the background, maybe some coffee machines worrying or kids screaming or something like that, it's cause, hey, we're live at the coffee shop.
0:56
We sure are.
0:57
Yeah, and not too busy today, but I have a feeling it'll pick up as the day goes on.
1:00
Come noontime, it's always busy.
1:02
It's awesome.
1:02
Jennifer, tell us about some important people.
1:04
Well, Cam, we would like to thank our gold corporate sponsors, which include the Myshak Group of Companies, Genics, Parkland County and Bow Valley Credit Union.
1:14
That's right.
1:14
Without them, we would not be able to do what we do.
1:17
So thank you very, very much for doing that.
1:20
And anything else new and exciting you want to tell us?
1:23
Cam, I am just so excited to get to our guests today.
1:26
Okay, introduce our guest and let's get going.
1:29
Our guest today is Teresa Spinelli, president of The Italian Centre.
1:35
And Cam, we know, you and I love The Italian Centre.
1:40
I love The Italian Centre.
1:41
Best cannolis I've ever had, best pizza I've ever had.
1:44
I love the pizza.
1:46
It's amazing.
1:47
The deli.
1:47
Let's go there for lunch because now I'm craving the pizza.
1:50
Maybe we need a side note sandwich.
1:51
So yeah.
1:52
Yes, so welcome Teresa.
1:53
Welcome Teresa.
1:54
Well, thank you.
1:55
Love the energy.
1:56
Yeah, good to have you.
1:57
And you know what?
1:58
We mean that when we talk about Italian Centre.
2:01
The food is unbelievable.
2:02
Thank you.
2:02
And every time I walk by the bakery case, it's a fight.
2:06
It's an inner struggle to not order everything in the bakery case.
2:10
So I'm beginning to show that I eat at the bakery case a little much.
2:14
But anyways, it's all good.
2:16
So thank you for coming.
2:17
Thank you for having me.
2:18
Yeah.
2:18
So Teresa, we're going to kick it off.
2:21
Tell us a little bit about yourself and where you grew up.
2:25
OK, I grew up in McCauley in Edmonton.
2:30
Now it's Little Italy.
2:31
I was born and raised, actually I was born and raised like right where we are now, like where our store is on 95th Street.
2:36
That's where our original house was.
2:37
OK.
2:37
So I was literally born and raised there.
2:40
Took my first walking steps down the pasta aisle.
2:43
Very much grew up in the store.
2:45
Nobody has ever said that to us.
2:47
They took their first steps on the pasta aisle.
2:50
I love that.
2:51
Yeah.
2:51
So for sure, very, very much of who I am is part of the Italian Centre shop.
2:55
Right.
2:56
And what school did you go to?
2:58
Elementary.
2:59
I went to Sacred Heart School and then I went to St.
3:02
Joe's.
3:02
St.
3:02
Joe's.
3:03
OK.
3:04
St.
3:04
Joe's.
3:04
Yeah.
3:05
And yeah, so that's pretty amazing.
3:07
So I guess we need to know a little bit about the Italian Centre to understand your story.
3:13
So where did that all start or how did that all start?
3:15
Sure.
3:15
So my dad started the Italian Centre in 1959.
3:18
He immigrated from Italy and he went to work in the Yukon Mines.
3:22
And unfortunately there he had a very bad accident and he ended up at Charles Camsell Hospital here in Edmonton because it was in the nearest hospital.
3:28
Really?
3:28
Charles Camsell, yeah.
3:29
Which was an indigenous hospital at the time.
3:31
Yes, that's right.
3:32
He spent the next year and a half in traction.
3:34
My dad was a very big man, just his stature was very big.
3:36
Just because of his stature, people would just ask him about what was happening in Italy, how things were.
3:43
He helped people find jobs.
3:44
And people used to tell him that they didn't know what was happening, they didn't understand English very well, they didn't have TVs or radios.
3:50
So my dad started to import Italian newspapers.
3:52
And although the newspapers were like four or five months old, people were so happy to read in their native language, what was happening in their home country.
3:59
So they said, this is great, but you know, here in Alberta, we don't really have any good coffee, like we don't have any espresso.
4:04
So my dad started to import espresso.
4:07
So then people had their paper, they had their coffee, and said, you know, what's this canola stuff, like there's no olive oil here.
4:13
So they started to bring in olive oil, and today we have over 30,000 items.
4:16
That's how it started.
4:17
Isn't that amazing?
4:18
No, that is amazing.
4:19
Now, speaking of espresso, so back then, in the 50s, was that a popular, I mean, amongst Italians, it was obviously, but was it a popular thing?
4:28
Was it like we're sitting in the coffee shop and espresso?
4:31
I look over at the menu board and I see, yeah, was that a popular thing back in the 50s or was that?
4:36
It wasn't popular in Edmonton.
4:38
Right.
4:38
It was popular in people's homes, for sure, because that's what they're used to drink.
4:41
And then my father actually opened the first cafe that had lattes, right?
4:45
He's the first one that had lattes in Edmonton.
4:47
Really?
4:48
Wow, that's just fascinating to me.
4:50
That's absolutely incredible.
4:51
And is that in the 95th Street Store?
4:54
So it started out as a cafe?
4:57
No, it was always a tiny, tiny little store, like the size of a bathroom, really, really tiny.
5:01
They sold newspapers, the Italian newspapers.
5:05
He sold cigarettes and he sold candy bars.
5:07
And then as people asked, there were things.
5:08
He brought in coffee, he brought in pasta, olive oil, and he grew as people asked for more things.
5:12
That's pretty incredible.
5:14
Is there?
5:14
I don't know.
5:16
I lived in Vancouver for a number of years.
5:17
There's a very large Italian community.
5:20
So I have very good friends, Italian friends, who owned a number of little bakeries and stores and things.
5:25
Is there a big Italian population in Edmonton?
5:29
Not a big population.
5:30
I think we're probably about 20,000, 30,000.
5:32
Maybe not bigger because people have gotten married and we have bigger families.
5:36
Yeah, not big at all, but we're very close.
5:37
We're a very, very tight community.
5:39
Wow.
5:39
That's really incredible.
5:40
So you started out as a little store.
5:42
Yeah.
5:43
And then how do you go from a little store to, I mean, tell us a bit about that journey.
5:48
So my mom and dad started the store.
5:50
They both worked there and me and my brother sat on the till while my mother was cashier, very much grew up in the store.
5:55
And then as we grew, my father started taking over properties on 95th Street and built a bigger store, and bigger store, bigger store.
6:03
And then very traditional Italian family, very, very traditional.
6:06
So my brother was supposed to take over the store.
6:10
He was smarter than me, for sure he was, but really he was only supposed to take over because he was a boy.
6:13
That was the only reason.
6:14
Now, let's stop there.
6:16
Tell us a little about that.
6:18
Because Italian culture, men...
6:21
Yes, rule.
6:22
Rule.
6:22
Absolutely.
6:23
Yeah.
6:24
And is it true that men live at home until they get married?
6:26
Absolutely.
6:27
Okay, because mama takes care of them.
6:29
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
6:30
I hope my kid lives at home, I think it's...
6:31
That's awesome.
6:35
Yeah, yeah, it's very much...
6:37
So knowing that, growing up in Italian culture...
6:40
Yeah, so I was supposed to get married, have kids, and move on, right?
6:42
Unfortunately, my brother died just before his 33rd birthday, and shortly thereafter, my dad was diagnosed with cancer.
6:47
Oh, my goodness.
6:49
That's how I ended up where I am.
6:50
When I took over, we were about $8 million in sales, we had about 30 employees.
6:55
It was a really, really hard time because, you know, I missed my dad, my mother was depressed, I missed my brother.
7:01
It was hard, and I didn't think I was going to ever be there, so it was a hard time for sure.
7:07
And it was hard for my employees too, right?
7:09
Like they really respected my dad a lot, and they thought of me as like a little kid who used to work cashier.
7:13
Used to run the cash machine, yeah.
7:15
So taking direction from a woman, let alone one they thought was a spoiled brat, was very, very difficult.
7:19
And were they all Italian?
7:20
They were all Italian.
7:21
Yeah, so yeah.
7:22
So very, and all men.
7:23
All men.
7:24
All men.
7:24
So very, very difficult.
7:27
Yeah, it was a tough time, but once I got there, you know, I started thinking about, you know, why am I doing this?
7:33
Am I doing this for my dad?
7:34
Yeah.
7:35
You know, what are my options?
7:36
What can I, you know, I was thinking about my family.
7:38
I had recently gotten married, so, you know, what did I want?
7:41
Why did I want it?
7:42
And just started thinking about stuff like that.
7:43
And then I realized that I didn't really care about selling salami, but I cared about our people.
7:48
I really loved our team.
7:50
Yeah, yeah.
7:50
And I loved our customers.
7:52
Right.
7:52
And I thought, okay, well, I'm not going anywhere now.
7:54
Now I know that.
7:55
So how are they going to grow?
7:56
We don't have any other stores.
7:58
I'm not going nowhere.
7:59
So how are we going to give them up?
8:01
So we had to open new stores in order for them to have the possibility to grow.
8:04
Right.
8:05
So before you were put in the situation where you had to take over the store, what did you want to do?
8:12
I wanted to be a social worker.
8:13
A social worker.
8:14
Really?
8:15
Yeah.
8:15
Huh.
8:16
Yeah.
8:17
And did you ever, did you talk to your dad about that?
8:20
Oh, yeah.
8:20
And was he open to that?
8:21
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
8:23
So when I did, so I did study psychology in university and then I did do a social work program and then I went to work in the fields and I realized that I couldn't do that job because I wanted to bring everybody home with me.
8:33
Wow.
8:33
You know, it was so hard.
8:34
Yeah.
8:34
It's a hard, hard job.
8:35
It's a hard job.
8:36
Yeah.
8:37
And to be efficient at it, to be good at it, you have to be able to separate yourself.
8:40
Yes.
8:41
And so that you can help them grow.
8:43
But I was always so depressed and really, did really want to bring everybody home with me.
8:47
Yeah.
8:47
So I realized that that wasn't going to work for me.
8:50
So I fully understand that.
8:52
My daughter, she has her degree in youth and child care and works at Yellowhead Centre.
8:58
Oh, wow.
8:59
I worked there.
8:59
Did you?
9:00
Did you?
9:00
Okay.
9:01
Wow.
9:02
Okay.
9:02
So you understand.
9:03
Oh, so hard.
9:05
And God bless her.
9:06
Yeah.
9:06
How long did you do that?
9:07
Not very long.
9:08
Not very long.
9:08
It was just too hard.
9:09
It was a work experience program, so it was through school.
9:11
Sure.
9:12
But I didn't like it.
9:12
Yeah.
9:13
What was it that you didn't like it or you liked it, but you just couldn't, it was too much.
9:18
It was just too much.
9:19
Or it was just too hard.
9:20
It was too hard.
9:21
Too hard.
9:22
It was too hard.
9:22
Yeah.
9:22
I found it too hard.
9:23
Okay.
9:24
So then you went to work in the store?
9:26
And I went to work in the store alongside my dad.
9:30
And in the office, I had the sign that said, 'Do you want to speak to the woman who knows what's going on or the man in charge?' And guess who they want to speak to?
9:39
Do you still have that sign?
9:40
That's a great sign.
9:41
That's awesome.
9:42
I love that sign.
9:43
That's fantastic.
9:45
And did they do that?
9:46
They want to speak to the man in charge.
9:48
Yeah.
9:49
Yeah.
9:49
Yeah.
9:49
It was very tough.
9:50
Right.
9:51
Very tough.
9:51
So when you went back after social work, sort of what was your position?
9:54
What did you do?
9:55
I worked in the office.
9:56
You worked in the office.
9:57
I did everything, really.
9:58
And how many stores did you have at that time?
9:59
Just the one.
10:00
Just the one.
10:01
Okay.
10:01
Yeah.
10:02
So tell us the progression then a little bit.
10:04
You went to work for your dad.
10:05
Yeah.
10:05
I went to work for my dad, trying to find out what I wanted to do.
10:09
Looked at options because my brother, had he lived, we wouldn't have been able to work together.
10:14
We had different visions for the store.
10:15
Sure.
10:16
Right.
10:16
Although he'd say to me, don't worry, I'll let you be boss, but just different visions.
10:21
So I was always looking to see what I could do or whatever.
10:23
Yeah.
10:23
So those kind of things.
10:25
Yeah.
10:25
And then you just...
10:28
Then my dad and my brother passed away.
10:29
I ended up with a store, figured out that I wanted to be there.
10:32
Like I said, I really love the people.
10:33
Yeah.
10:34
Started doing some soul searching.
10:35
I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing this life for my dad.
10:37
Yeah.
10:37
Yeah.
10:38
So let's talk about that for a sec.
10:39
So yeah, your dad passes away, your brother passes away.
10:43
Did you ever think, well, we'll just close her down or...
10:47
Sell.
10:48
Yeah, sell or what did you...
10:49
I knew I had those options, but no, it never really crossed my mind.
10:53
It didn't, eh?
10:53
I love that.
10:54
I love that.
10:55
Yeah.
10:56
And I think we hear that sometimes.
10:59
We talk about the family businesses from people, right?
11:02
It's that pivotal point of what do you do.
11:05
Yeah.
11:06
What was the sort of the clinch pin or the key thing that said, no, I'm going to do this.
11:11
I want to do this.
11:12
What was it?
11:12
The fact that your dad started the business and you wanted to carry it on, or you just loved it, or...
11:16
I just loved it.
11:17
I loved the people.
11:18
I loved the people.
11:19
I loved the grocery business.
11:21
I love that teaching people that eating around the table is where families bond.
11:27
It's where memories are made.
11:29
It's...
11:30
That's a really great thing to have.
11:32
I think.
11:33
I'm European, so obviously I think that...
11:36
Well, I think that's a great thing.
11:39
I think Canadians, we miss that.
11:40
I think the family table, the Sunday dinner table, I think we miss that.
11:45
And especially Italians, they do it so well, because it's not just a bowl of pasta, it's a nice big meal.
11:50
I was there for a while.
11:51
But it's there, so you sit and talk, and laugh, and get mad at each other, and make up with each other, and do all that kind of stuff.
11:58
So yeah.
11:58
Okay, so now you're running the place.
12:01
Yeah, so when I took over, it was $8 million in sales, we were about 30 employees, all men, or at least 28 of them were men, from what I remember.
12:08
And then when we decided to grow, we opened up a new location.
12:13
So what we're really good at, one of the things we're really good at is listening to our customers.
12:17
So if our customers are looking for something, just like my dad did, people asked for espresso, he brought in espresso, they asked for olive oil, he brought in olive oil.
12:22
So we started listening to our customers, and people would say, I live on the south side, I live on the south side, it's a long way here, it's a long way here.
12:28
So we started looking for a location on the south side.
12:32
So my director of operations, his name is Anthony DeSantis, he's very, very good at finding the right spots.
12:36
And he found this spot, and we went to look at it, and we opened that second store.
12:41
Wow, so now you got two stores.
12:43
Yeah.
12:44
So one downtown.
12:45
One downtown.
12:45
One on the south side.
12:46
That's right.
12:47
I've never been to this.
12:48
Have you been to the south side?
12:49
Yes, I have.
12:49
I never have.
12:50
Yeah, okay.
12:51
Is it as big as the downtown one, or bigger?
12:53
It's bigger.
12:54
Okay.
12:55
So now you have two stores.
12:56
Now we have two stores.
12:57
How's that changed your life?
12:59
It changed our life a lot.
13:00
First of all, because we didn't know what we were doing.
13:02
And the one store, our store in Little Italy was old, and had a lot of character, and how we're going to bring that flavor to the south side of Edmonton, where everybody doesn't have that immigrant base.
13:14
So it was challenging for sure.
13:18
Yes, but we did it one step at a time.
13:21
I think some people think that grocery business is easy.
13:23
Oh, it's not easy.
13:24
No, I know.
13:24
But you know what I mean?
13:25
We just walk in and we see everything, and we go, oh, that's all they do, is they just order this stuff on the shelves.
13:31
That can't be that hard.
13:32
I don't think it's like that, is it?
13:33
No, it's hard.
13:34
All businesses are hard.
13:35
Yeah, for sure.
13:37
But I think that it's got to be a challenge.
13:40
Teresa, tell us a little bit about how you've seen that change from the time you were working with your dad as a child to now the grocery business.
13:47
Oh, yeah, so when we had just the one store, my dad was alive, we were like the Italian store.
13:53
We were the only, for example, at Christmas time, we sell Panettone, which is the Christmas cake.
13:57
Oh, come on now.
13:59
Yeah.
13:59
Back then, we were the only place that sold Panettone.
14:01
Wow.
14:02
Now, everybody sells Panettone, Superstore, every corner store, Save On Food, everybody eats those, right?
14:08
So very, very different than when we were the one store.
14:11
So that was very, very different.
14:13
Yeah.
14:15
And as the world become global, of course, it becomes very, very different.
14:18
So figuring out how do we keep ourselves different, right?
14:21
So although everybody carries Panettone, people still buy a lot of Panettone from us because they have that connection to this.
14:28
Yeah.
14:29
It's the authentic thing.
14:30
Yeah.
14:30
It's Italy.
14:31
Yeah.
14:32
You know, nobody goes to their dinner chips, or I bought this at XYZ.
14:35
Can I tell you something?
14:36
That's how I feel about my cold cuts.
14:38
Oh, good.
14:39
I don't buy them anywhere else, but you know why?
14:41
Because I'm thinking this is authentic.
14:44
Even though, even though.
14:45
Same with cheese.
14:45
Yeah.
14:46
The same with cheese.
14:47
Even though Save-on may sell, I won't buy it there.
14:51
First of all, well, anyway, let's not get into that.
14:52
But secondly, I come because it's authentic.
14:55
Thank you.
14:56
Thank you.
14:56
And I'm not even Italian.
14:57
Thank you.
14:58
But that's pretty cool, I think.
14:59
Yes, thank you.
15:00
Thank you.
15:00
It means a lot to us.
15:01
Okay.
15:01
So, yeah, you got two stores now.
15:04
Yeah, got two stores.
15:06
And then again, we're still growing, and we're looking for another location.
15:10
And then this location at the West End came up.
15:12
And so up to that point, we owned all our real estate, because I'm a child of an immigrant, right?
15:17
So we think very, very differently.
15:19
Yes.
15:19
Like you would never rent a place.
15:20
You're going to buy a house, because you're not going to pay money.
15:23
Because it's just the way you're brought up.
15:24
Of course.
15:25
Immigrants struggle a lot.
15:27
Those kind of things.
15:27
But we couldn't find anything.
15:28
And then this place came up, but it wasn't for sale.
15:30
So it was a whole mind-changing thing.
15:33
OK, now we've got a lease.
15:35
Yeah.
15:35
What does that mean?
15:36
And how does that work?
15:38
Was that pre-West Edmonton Mall?
15:40
Or no West Edmonton Mall?
15:41
It was already there.
15:42
Yeah.
15:43
Because what year did you open the West End location?
15:46
I want to say 2000.
15:47
I don't know.
15:47
Oh, OK.
15:49
Yeah.
15:50
So big step for you guys to go and do a lease.
15:53
Big step.
15:53
Yeah.
15:54
Big step.
15:55
Yeah.
15:57
And that's obviously working out for you.
15:58
Yeah.
15:58
That worked out really well.
16:00
So then when we're looking for other stores, we know, OK, now we can lease.
16:03
If we have to lease, we know that we can do that.
16:05
Right.
16:05
Makes sense.
16:05
Yeah.
16:06
Economically and stuff.
16:07
So that's how it started.
16:08
Well, I don't know about you, Cam, but every time I go in any of the Italian centres, they are busy.
16:13
Oh, first of all, never go the day before Christmas.
16:16
Can I just say that that's a little...
16:19
I'm not going to say that was a mistake.
16:21
It's just I had to be very patient.
16:23
And your staff is obviously excellent, but you're right, it's always busy.
16:27
Your fruit, your vegetables are always fresh.
16:30
They're nice looking.
16:31
Your meats and cheeses are amazing.
16:32
And the bakery, well, it's not even going there.
16:34
Jennifer has one beef.
16:36
You couldn't get a hold of the calendar.
16:40
You wanted the cheese advent calendar and they sold out on you.
16:44
That was kind of...
16:45
Teresa, it's all I heard about for days.
16:48
It's all I heard about for days.
16:50
Seriously.
16:50
So, all right, so you got two stores.
16:53
Yep.
16:54
And then they added the third.
16:55
They added the third.
16:56
And then?
16:58
And then we were looking to grow, and then we started thinking about Calgary.
17:01
And we never wanted to open in Calgary because we have a lot of customers that buy from us because we're a wholesaler too.
17:06
So we never really wanted to compete with our own customers.
17:08
But again, we got lots of requests for a store in Calgary.
17:10
And then we thought, well, if we open on the opposite end of town of where the other, our customers, their stores are, maybe that'll work.
17:16
So that's what we did.
17:17
And it's been very successful.
17:18
Okay, so just to take a little different road.
17:20
Now you've got all these stores.
17:22
Now, you're married.
17:23
Yes.
17:24
Okay, how many children?
17:25
I just have one.
17:25
You have one, boy or girl?
17:27
Boy.
17:27
Oh, that lucky kid.
17:29
Italian boy.
17:30
I mean, seriously.
17:31
And what's he do?
17:32
He's in school?
17:33
He came as a surprise.
17:34
So I'm 63 and he's 17.
17:36
So it's been a surprise, but it's all good.
17:38
So you got three stores going on, you and your husband and a child now.
17:42
How does that affect family?
17:44
Does your husband work with you?
17:46
How does that work?
17:47
So that was really hard.
17:48
So my son did come as a surprise, but my son was adopted.
17:51
And he came as a surprise because we weren't planning to adopt.
17:53
Anyway, speaking of long story short, he showed up.
17:55
And then I tried to work from home.
17:57
We had just opened our second store, actually, and I tried to work from home, but it was impossible.
18:01
And the women could work from home and have kids.
18:03
I bowed down to this pretty hard, right?
18:05
You change the diaper, then you finish the deposit, then you go, oh, feed the kid, then you do the payroll.
18:10
It was like I was working like 24 hours a day.
18:13
There's no separation.
18:15
You've done that.
18:16
So you know.
18:17
It was so hard.
18:18
So then I said to my husband, I can't do this.
18:20
I just can't.
18:21
I physically can't do this.
18:22
And so my husband said, okay, I'll stay at home, and then you go to the store.
18:25
So that's what we did.
18:25
He became the stay-at-home husband, which is really hard in our culture, right?
18:28
I was going to say, you stepped out of the box a little bit there.
18:32
For sure.
18:32
Wow.
18:33
So he became the stay-at-home dad and I went to work.
18:36
Yeah.
18:37
And he too, my son came to work with me a lot, and he too is part of the store, grew up in the store.
18:42
Sure.
18:43
And does your husband work with you?
18:44
We tried it.
18:45
It didn't work really well.
18:45
It didn't work.
18:46
He takes care of the snow removal, and we have lots of rental properties, he takes out moving things.
18:53
We tried it.
18:54
That didn't work really well.
18:55
I love the honesty of that one.
18:56
That's good.
18:57
Really, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
18:59
Yeah.
19:00
Happy home.
19:00
You got to do what works.
19:02
My husband is great, but if I have a problem and I tell him, but he wants to fix it.
19:05
Yeah.
19:06
I just want to vent.
19:07
So I didn't get mad if I didn't take his suggestion.
19:11
I love it.
19:12
I love it.
19:12
That's great.
19:13
Say there's people listening to this.
19:15
That this is good.
19:16
No, this is.
19:17
This is a really good.
19:18
It's true.
19:18
Yeah.
19:20
Okay.
19:20
So now you got three stores.
19:22
You got your husband doing your thing.
19:23
You got a child now.
19:25
You figured I'm good.
19:26
This is good.
19:27
We're good.
19:27
Calgary.
19:28
Yes.
19:28
No.
19:29
Maybe so.
19:29
Yeah.
19:29
We want to do Calgary.
19:30
So we did Calgary.
19:31
We opened Calgary.
19:32
So then we had four stores and then we had this great opportunity to open up in Sherwood Park.
19:36
We weren't thinking about Sherwood Park at all.
19:37
It was beautiful.
19:38
I hear so many good things about Sherwood Park.
19:41
Like everybody tells me, Cam, go to the Sherwood Park.
19:43
It's beautiful.
19:44
You know, I want to do that this weekend because I was with a guy from Sherwood Park yesterday and he said, no, you got to come out here.
19:50
It's a phenomenal store.
19:51
Nice.
19:52
Very nice.
19:52
Yeah.
19:52
It's a great store.
19:53
So we did Sherwood Park because it was a really great opportunity for us.
19:56
It was a great deal.
19:57
We couldn't pass it up.
19:58
So we did.
19:58
And that's, you know, Sherwood Park really embraced us, which has been really awesome.
20:01
Yeah.
20:02
Well, that's great.
20:02
So that's four stores.
20:04
Four stores.
20:05
Hoping to open up another one in Calgary this year.
20:07
Okay.
20:08
Yeah.
20:08
So that'll be good.
20:09
Yeah.
20:10
And is, I mean, expansion's got to be hard.
20:13
It can't be that easy.
20:14
I mean, it must be a lot of work.
20:16
But you've got really, really good people.
20:17
Okay.
20:18
Really good people.
20:18
So let's talk about that.
20:19
You put good people around you.
20:21
How did you find, did they grow up in the business?
20:23
Did they grow up with you?
20:24
Yeah, pretty much.
20:25
I read a book called From Good To Great.
20:27
Oh, I read that book.
20:29
You know, you have a good business, and I want to make it better.
20:31
Because we had a good business.
20:32
Our business was very good.
20:33
But I want to make it better, and I talked about finding the right people, and then putting the right people on the bus, and then having them on the right seats, because that happens too, right?
20:42
So we moved some people around, and yeah, it's been really, I'm very, very blessed.
20:46
Very, very blessed.
20:47
So can I just ask you then, what's one of your biggest frustrations?
20:52
You have a large staff, huge staff.
20:55
What's one of your, what's the biggest frustration you have with that?
20:59
Is it, can you get enough people?
21:01
Can you get enough qualified people?
21:03
What is your biggest frustration there?
21:05
So that's the best part of my job is the people, because I love the people.
21:09
The hardest part of my job is the people.
21:10
Yeah.
21:11
It's very, very hard.
21:12
No, we seem to find the right people, not always in the right positions, but we move them around.
21:17
You know, we're really, we're really, well, I don't want to brag, but we're really different kind of company.
21:23
So, you know, if someone's not working out, the analogy that I use is if you have a pond of fish.
21:28
So for my dad was the boss, right?
21:30
My dad was a big guy.
21:31
Right.
21:32
He was the boss.
21:33
His way or the highway.
21:34
Yeah.
21:34
Yeah.
21:35
I'm not that way.
21:35
I'm very, very opposite that.
21:37
And so for the first 40 years at the Italian Centre Shop, the analogy I use is if you got a pond of fish and the fish died, do you blame the fish?
21:46
Well, at the Italian Centre Shop, we blame the fish.
21:48
Stupid fish.
21:48
Get rid of these fish.
21:50
Then we put new fish in the pond.
21:51
They died.
21:52
Stupid fish.
21:52
Yeah.
21:53
Yeah.
21:53
Yeah.
21:54
And then we went, oh, wait, what if it's not the fish?
21:57
What if it's the pond?
21:59
What if it's me?
22:00
Okay.
22:00
What is it about this place that's making those fish go the wrong way?
22:04
And it was really life-changing.
22:06
Truly life-changing.
22:07
Because everybody goes to work to do a good job.
22:10
Nobody wants to slough off.
22:11
Of course.
22:11
Yeah, I agree.
22:12
Everybody goes to do a good job.
22:13
And really changing our focus and making it people first really changed everything.
22:18
Wow.
22:18
Yeah.
22:19
When does your book come out?
22:20
Yeah.
22:21
Seriously.
22:22
This is fabulous.
22:23
You're very kind.
22:24
This is great lessons for business.
22:26
This is excellent.
22:28
We have a lot of guests on who customer service, like I think of Amy Quon from the Lingnan.
22:33
Yes.
22:33
Love her.
22:34
Yeah.
22:34
And Amy is the quintessential customer service.
22:37
But listening to you now, this is fantastic.
22:40
This is good.
22:41
And you've sort of figured that out, which is huge.
22:45
Yeah.
22:45
So when we make a decision at the Italian Centre shop, we always think, how is it going to affect Sally the cashier?
22:50
Also, Sally the cashier has nothing to do with the decision being up here, but we try to figure out how it's going to change her life.
22:54
Trickle down.
22:55
Yeah.
22:55
And then we get her input, find out how she feels about that, blah, blah.
22:59
Makes it hard because the decisions take a long time.
23:01
Yes.
23:02
It takes longer, but I think it really makes a big difference.
23:04
Yeah.
23:05
This is just...
23:06
I don't know about you, but this is amazing.
23:08
No, this is incredible.
23:09
I mean, this really is.
23:10
Like I say, when does the book come out?
23:11
Because this is good stuff.
23:13
This is gold.
23:14
This is good stuff.
23:15
Anybody listening in business, this is it.
23:19
I know.
23:19
And I was just thinking the same thing.
23:21
We have so many business people that listen to our podcast.
23:24
And I think, Teresa, you've just given us and given business people some really great little nuggets of gold for running and operating a business.
23:34
Absolutely.
23:35
So you've got four stores.
23:38
Five.
23:38
Five stores.
23:39
Sorry, sorry.
23:39
Yeah.
23:40
And do you think you want to...
23:42
Soon to be six.
23:43
Yeah.
23:44
The one in Calgary.
23:45
Oh, the other one in Calgary.
23:46
Okay.
23:46
So where in Calgary?
23:47
Which sides, which areas of the city?
23:49
Currently, we have one store in Southeast Calgary.
23:52
Our next store is in Northwest Calgary.
23:53
And we think if Edmonton could do three stores, we think Calgary could do three stores.
23:56
Right.
23:56
I'm sure.
23:57
I'm sure.
23:57
So we're looking for the third one now.
23:59
Do you think Edmonton could do four stores?
24:01
Sometimes.
24:02
Yeah?
24:02
Yeah, sometimes.
24:03
Yeah, yeah.
24:03
You don't want to make any big announcements on the podcast?
24:06
You know, when you're ready to do four, we want to invite you back so you can make the announcement.
24:11
Because I think it's so cool.
24:12
Thank you, Cam.
24:13
That's just really awesome.
24:14
So you've got all these stores going.
24:16
I can't imagine that your life, I imagine it's pretty busy, it's going.
24:20
No, I've got really good people.
24:21
Do you?
24:21
Really, really good people.
24:22
So you've figured out that work balance.
24:24
Again, that's incredible.
24:26
Because you've got a lot going on.
24:28
Yes, well, everybody has a lot going on.
24:30
Yeah, no, I understand.
24:31
But yeah, that's incredible.
24:32
So tell us about what Teresa Spinelli does outside of the Italian Centre.
24:37
Yeah, you know, I don't really have any hobbies or anything.
24:40
I really love what I do.
24:42
I love what I do.
24:42
And I love our stores.
24:44
Actually, just on Sunday, my husband phoned me and goes, Why are you at the store?
24:47
I just like it.
24:48
I just like it.
24:49
Why?
24:50
I'm just sitting here having coffee with people.
24:51
I just want to be here.
24:52
I have a coffee maker at home.
24:53
I can make espresso just the same.
24:55
But I like the vibe.
24:56
I like sitting here and talking to people.
24:57
I just love it.
24:58
I love it.
24:58
Wow.
24:59
That's fantastic.
24:59
And I just love people.
25:00
Yeah.
25:01
So are you a reader?
25:02
Yeah, I read.
25:04
Are you a movie watcher?
25:05
Yeah, I watch a lot of Netflix.
25:06
Yeah.
25:07
Okay.
25:09
This is getting better all the time because I just love this lady.
25:11
She's incredible.
25:13
Wow.
25:13
This is really fantastic.
25:14
Wow.
25:15
What an amazing story.
25:17
And I think because of everything that you've talked about, Teresa, you've had your customer base is loyal.
25:23
Yes, very.
25:24
Right?
25:24
Well, again, when we talk about the grocery industry and pricing, and you know, it's not about going for the cheapest item, right?
25:34
It's about the culture you've built.
25:35
And I think that's just fantastic.
25:37
Thank you.
25:37
Thank you.
25:38
And I think what you've done is incredible because I know for myself and others, we'll drive out of our way to go there.
25:45
Just because when you find something that's quality and it's good, and the people are friendly and helpful, and you're just going to go there.
25:52
Like that's where you're going to go.
25:53
Because you feel, at the end of the day, for me, you feel good walking out.
25:57
Yes, absolutely.
25:58
That's what it is.
25:59
I could tell you a Gazillion stories.
26:00
So, you know, a couple of months ago, I was at our cafe in Little Italy, and I was standing at the bar, and a guy came in.
26:05
He's a regular.
26:06
I see him all the time, but I don't know who he is.
26:08
And he ordered a coffee, and he stood beside me and said, Hey, Teresa, I just want to tell you, what you have here is a very special thing.
26:15
And I said, Oh, thank you very much.
26:16
He goes, No, you don't understand.
26:17
I traveled across Canada.
26:18
I've never found a place like this.
26:19
I said, Thank you for your support.
26:20
He goes, No, you don't understand.
26:21
He goes, I'm severely depressed, and some days I don't want to get out of bed.
26:24
He goes, but I, I try not to cry, but I come here because I know that you know my name, and have my coffee ordered before I get here.
26:32
So then I shared that with my team.
26:33
I said, Hey, just so you know, this guy told me this story.
26:35
And they said, then they were going, is it that guy?
26:37
Is it that guy?
26:38
That tells me there's a lot of lonely people in this house.
26:40
Yes, 100%.
26:41
And a lot of lonely people.
26:42
Like, Italian Centre Shop really creates community, creates community through food and cultural experiences, because we really are a community.
26:48
And I can tell you a similar story.
26:50
Sure.
26:50
That even our team members, some of our team members, we are their family.
26:53
They have no other family but us.
26:55
The only meal they eat is with us, you know?
26:58
And I think that's what makes us very, very different.
27:00
Yeah.
27:01
It's really, really heartwarming.
27:03
That's a really big compliment to me.
27:04
The fact that he can get out of bed just to come out and have coffee.
27:07
He can have coffee a thousand different places.
27:09
He really feels good to be coming.
27:12
So amazing.
27:12
Well, you're right.
27:13
There is something about it.
27:14
I know that when we come on the weekends to have a pizza or whatever, I don't even mind waiting for a table, simply because I love the buzz.
27:23
Yes.
27:23
I love the buzz.
27:24
And at this table, there's six guys who just finished a soccer game and they're going after it.
27:29
At this table, there's just a gentleman having an espresso and maybe a cannoli or something.
27:34
And this is a great vibe.
27:36
I love it.
27:37
You won't get that anywhere else.
27:38
It's fantastic.
27:40
So.
27:40
Oh boy.
27:42
We could sit here and talk to Teresa for hours.
27:45
I know.
27:46
30 minutes go by too fast.
27:48
So.
27:49
Final question, Teresa.
27:49
Final question.
27:50
That's how fast it's going.
27:51
I know.
27:52
Tell us the best piece of advice you've been given either personally or professionally that you carry with you to this day.
28:00
Oh, wow.
28:01
Best piece of advice.
28:04
I think it's about being a little bit deaf, you know?
28:06
Like if somebody says something to you, you don't have to really take it to heart.
28:09
Pretend you didn't hear it.
28:10
Because if you take it to heart, then it just ruins your whole day, right?
28:14
And whether it's my husband that says something stupid, or a customer says something negative, you know, I just kind of ignore it, right?
28:22
And I just think that I go on with my...
28:24
If I hear it lots of times, obviously, then you have to listen.
28:26
You know, my rule is if I hear it once, I ignore it twice, I go oh, three times there's a pattern and then I pay attention, right?
28:32
But if you hear somebody say something negative once, I just kind of ignore it.
28:35
Yeah.
28:36
It's not going to go anywhere.
28:37
It is great advice.
28:37
That really is great advice, because you can get bogged down in that.
28:41
Sure can.
28:41
And I bet in your industry, you could get really bogged down in that.
28:44
Oh, for sure, for sure, for sure.
28:45
Somebody doesn't like the kumquat or something, and they're taking it out on you.
28:48
Well, it's...
28:49
Yeah, for sure.
28:50
You know, wow, fantastic.
28:52
I can't believe, A, how fast this is going.
28:55
But B, what...
28:56
This has been a great...
28:57
This has been great.
28:58
Well, you guys are great.
28:59
I just love your energy.
29:00
I just love it.
29:01
You guys are awesome.
29:02
I could just...
29:03
I just love it.
29:04
Can we meet once a week for coffee at the Italian Centre?
29:07
We'll just let you talk.
29:08
Sorry, Michael.
29:09
Yeah.
29:10
Yeah.
29:10
Oh, yeah.
29:10
Shh.
29:11
Don't tell Michael.
29:12
No, no.
29:13
We'll still come here to do the podcast, but yeah.
29:18
But anyway, wow.
29:19
Actually, Michael's got pretty great business.
29:20
He does.
29:21
He really does.
29:21
Because I read the website, I thought, wow, phenomenal.
29:23
Yeah, he really does.
29:24
Michael's done a phenomenal job here.
29:26
Yeah, really great.
29:27
And just doing it.
29:28
I love that story.
29:29
He's found his niche here in the heart of beautiful downtown Acheson, which is important.
29:34
But I'll tell you, man, this has just been great.
29:38
Absolutely.
29:39
So Teresa, tell our listeners where they can find the Italian Centre, if they go online, if they...
29:48
Yeah.
29:48
Our website is www.ItalianCentre.ca.
29:53
Like we said, we've got...
29:53
Do you spell it the Canadian way or the US way?
29:57
Okay.
29:57
Just got to make...
29:58
You bet.
29:58
You bet.
29:59
You bet.
29:59
We have three stores in Edmonton, one in Sherwood Park, one in Calgary, and hopefully a second one in Calgary coming soon.
30:04
That's right.
30:05
That's awesome.
30:05
So listen, everybody, if you have nothing to do this weekend, and even if you do, make time to find one of the Italian Centres and go to it.
30:13
You will not regret that decision.
30:14
You will not regret it.
30:15
And if you live out of town, or if you're listening around the world, look, we have listeners, I'm sorry.
30:20
But anyways, if you ever come to visit Edmonton or Calgary, make sure you go to the Italian Centre.
30:25
Teresa, thank you so much.
30:27
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much.
30:30
So thanks, everybody.
30:32
So hey, listen, you need to tell everybody about this podcast.
30:36
Tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your business associates, tell your enemies.
30:40
If you don't have any friends, make one so you can tell them.
30:43
And you can get this podcast wherever you get your podcasts or at www.Achesonbusiness.com.
30:49
And you can download it from there.
30:51
So yeah, I hope you tell everybody about this podcast because the stuff we've heard today, it's just gold.
30:56
It is gold.
30:57
It's gold.
30:58
Jennifer.
30:59
2025.
31:00
We're kicking it off right, Cam.
31:02
Man, I don't know how it's going to get much better than this, but boy, I'll tell you, this was great today.
31:07
It sure was.
31:08
So thanks, everybody.
31:09
Thanks, everyone.
31:10
See you next week.
31:11
Ciao.
31:13
Well, isn't it just... what a story.
31:15
Her personal story, her business story.
31:18
I mean, you can just take so much out of that.
31:20
I took so much out of that.
31:21
Yeah, me too.
31:22
I mean, like I said, I wasn't kidding.
31:24
She needs to write a book.
31:25
That's really incredible.
31:26
I know.
31:26
I feel I need to go back to the office now.
31:28
Yeah.
31:29
I don't know.
31:29
Yeah.
31:30
Implement something.
31:30
Fantastic.
31:31
Excellent.
31:32
That was great.
31:32
Hey, listen, tell us about something cool that's coming up.
31:35
Well, we have our first live Coffee In The Park event and our networking event for 2025 coming up next Thursday, January 30th.
31:46
That's right.
31:46
Right here at the wall.
31:47
That's right.
31:48
And so Coffee In The Park is something we do every couple of months through the ABA.
31:52
And it's really cool.
31:53
And we have a special guest this time.
31:54
We do.
31:55
We have Mayor Allan Gamble from Parkland County coming to do a bit of a Q&A for us.
32:00
Yeah.
32:01
So, hey, listen, you can come.
32:02
You can ask the mayor anything you want.
32:04
That's right.
32:04
And it'll be a great time of networking, building relationship and asking the mayor any question you have.
32:10
Now, tickets are limited because we do it at the Wall.
32:13
That's right.
32:14
It sells out really fast.
32:15
So get your tickets today by visiting achesonbusiness.com/events and secure your tickets.
32:23
You don't want to miss it.
32:23
Yeah, it's going to be great.
32:24
So there you go.
32:25
Thanks, everybody, again, for listening.
32:27
And like we said earlier, tell your friends, tell your neighbors, tell your business associates.
32:30
If you don't have a friend, make one to tell them about the podcast.
32:34
Appreciate your support and thanks, everybody.
32:36
Thanks, everyone.