Could this pork be smoked?
One of the last remaining butchers in Park Slope, A&S Pork Store, will likely close in the next three months in a classic New York landlord-tenant dispute — except in this case, the squabble is all in the family.
“[Founder] Anthony Scicchitano had an empire and his daughters killed it,” current owner Salvatore Bonello said recently of the man he calls his grandfather, who died in 2006. “They buried him and now they buried him again.”
Scicchitano opened the legendary butcher and gourmet shop on Fifth Avenue, near First Street, in 1948, and expanded with franchises in Staten Island, Long Island, and New Jersey.
Bonello currently runs the shop, but Schicchitano’s daughter owns the building. This year, Bonello said, his landlord doubled the $5,000-per-month rent and gave him until Oct. 1 to vacate when he declined to sign a new lease.
But it isn’t the end for A&S, Bonello said.
“We’re not closing up shop,” Bonello said. “Unfortunately, the landlord doesn’t want [us] and we have no choice. We’re trying to find another location.”
Bonello said he wants to stay in Park Slope.
There was no answer at the offices of an attorney who represents the landlord.
Far louder were the grumbles of neighborhood foodies.
“It was a great store, but the best thing was how much the guys there cared about the food,” said one regular customer who declined to give his name because he knows the aunt. “If you ordered a sandwich with fresh mozzarella, the guy at the counter would rest his hand on the cheese to check the temperature so you always got the freshest stuff.”
