Nonna's Sweet Treats opens in Rehoboth
Nonna's Sweet Treats, the new Italian sweets shop on the ocean block of Rehoboth Avenue, is inviting the community in for a taste of what three generations of Italian women, led by one Italian grandmother, can whip up.
The shop is hosting a grand opening celebration Friday, June 6. Named for 74-year-old grandmother Catherine Beck, Nonna's Sweet Treats is run by Beck, her daughter, Mary Lisa Koot and granddaughter Kim Koot.
After they decided to open the business, Mary Lisa said, they long struggled over what to name it. One night, Beck's grandson, Anthony, said Nonna's kitchen was the place he'd like to go for a treat.
Mary Lisa said once she heard Nonna's kitchen for sweet treats, she knew they had their business.
Nonna means grandmother in Italian and even before the grand opening, visitors familiar with the word, such as Wilmington resident Lorraine Wirt, said the cookie and sweets shop reminded her of home.
"It looks like my kitchen, and it smells like my kitchen," said Wirt, a nonna herself. "I make all these wonderful things."
The new Nonna's offers Italian specialties such as tiramisu, Italian rum cream cake and canoli. Nonna's also offers pizza friet, a fried bread sweet treat that Mary Lisa said has developed a following within her family as a sweet breakfast, snack, or sleepover treat.
"It's a treat for everyone to enjoy," Beck said. "It's a generational thing we pass down."
With three generations operating this family business, the women have played the biggest role, but even Beck's husband helps. He makes his own Pop's pizzelles for Nonna's Sweet Treats.
Twenty-year-old Kim said her mother assigned her the role of social media liaison, but she's also looking forward to getting hands-on to learn the recipes that have been passed down for generations.
Mary Lisa said the grand opening celebration is an exciting way to share the sweet treats that make everyone feel like they just stepped into their own Nonna's kitchen.
Nonna's Sweet Treats is at 67 Rehoboth Ave. For more information, contact Nonna's Sweet Treats at 302-227-3263.
Editor's Note: The phone number originally posted with this story was incorrect.
