Our Someone 2 Know moved to the U.S. from Italy 17 years ago.
Along with her husband, Lorena Merighi owns a shop in Reno and offers a taste of her homeland with a specialty grocery story, Italian cooking and language lessons. The shop is friendly and inviting, just like owners Marco and Lorena. “We love giving the feeling that you would get when you get into a small store in Italy,” enthuses Lorena.
Meet the owner of a local shop in Reno that offers a taste of her homeland.
One look at the shelves and you will see everything in the Bella Italia store is the real deal. “Not just labeled as made in Italy, but with all the ingredients from Italy.”
Authentic, just like Lorena Merighi - “I was born in a city half way between Venice and Bologna called Ferrara.”
Lorena and Marco met and married in Italy, moved to the U.S. in 2007 and two years later opened the Bella Italia store inside Arlington Gardens Mall in Reno. There, the ambience is free. “There's always either Italian TV or Italian music going on, we speak Italian between ourselves.”
If you want to learn the language yourself, Lorena offers lessons. One of Lorena’s student, Marie Murgolo, tells us taking classes with a native speaker makes all the difference. "Learning the grammar, learning why I’m saying these things and the proper way to really pronounce the words.".
For a deeper dive into the culture, Merighi also offers cooking lessons, right in your kitchen. "The majority of the times, they want to do homemade pasta, that is one of the main goals."
Lorena says she learned it from the best - “Mama, siempre!”
Merighi says her mom is a phenomenal cook. “If I will get to ten percent of how good she is, I’ll be happy." Because, just as with the products in the shop, sharing even a little bit of her beloved Italy with others - bring Lorena Merighi great joy.
"I mean, I love doing it. I LOVE doing it!"
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If you're interested in checking out the shop - you'll find it inside Arlington Gardens Mall Off Plumb Lane in Reno. This is the Bella Italia store - not to be confused with the restaurant by the same name - they are two different businesses.
Bella Italia STORE
Arlington Gardens Mall
606 W. Plumb Lane #3
Reno, NV 89509
Ph. +1 775 284 3500
Operating hours
M – F 10:30 Am – 5:00 Pm
Sat 9:30 Am – 3:30 Pm
Sun - closed
