Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop Marks 70 Years With 70-Cent Cannolis

On Monday, March 16, Baltimore's Little Italy institution Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop dropped its cannoli price from $6.60 to 70 cents for one day, turning its 70th anniversary into a neighborhood event. The deal ran at all three current locations: Little Italy, Canton Square, and Hunt Valley.

The bakery's roots trace to 1953, when Giacchino "Mr. Jimmy" Vaccaro left Palermo, Italy, for Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood with his family recipes in hand. Three years later he opened Vaccaro's Italian Pastry Shop, and the cannolis and rum cake quickly became fixtures of the neighborhood. Today his son Nick Vaccaro and daughter-in-law Maria Vaccaro run the operation, using the same formulas Mr. Jimmy brought across the Atlantic.

"We have the same recipes that my father-in-law started with," Maria Vaccaro said. "Ours are ricotta, sugar, secret spices and chocolate chips."

Seven decades of business have not come without strain. At its peak, the family expanded to as many as 10 locations before pulling back to three. "It's been a tough road," Maria said. "Over the years we've expanded and we've had up to 10 stores at one time. Now we have three."

Even so, Vaccaro's has woven itself into the personal histories of generations of Baltimore families. "We had customers who would say we got engaged at Vaccaro's and they made our wedding cake," Maria said. For the family, the anniversary carries real weight. "It's exciting to say 70 years," Maria said. "It's like our anniversary."

Looking past the celebration, Maria is clear-eyed about the long game. "I would hope that Vaccaro's would still be around. I won't be here, but I hope it will be," she said, laughing.