Lola Karimi ’25
EE Staff Writer
Marianna’s Pantry: Your Local Neighborhood Cafe
Marianna’s Pantry, a popular café, is the result of a passion for food made with fresh local ingredients, family roots, and a little bit of love and hard work. The founders, Melissa Cotto and Marina DeCarli created a menu inspired by their mother, Marianna DeCarli. It offers specialty coffees, breakfast, lunch, and takeout meals that celebrate its Italian roots.
The Cotto family was super supportive of Melissa and her dreams of opening this business. “It was super exciting watching something she’s so passionate about finally come to life and it is able to be shared with all of our family and friends,” said Alex Cotto, Melissa Cotto’s 14-year-old daughter.
Marianna’s Pantry has been a home to many teens after school and in the early mornings. “My first time at Marianna’s Pantry was a wonderful experience, when I walked into the room it was beautiful,” said Remy DeNomme, a Trumbull high school sophomore. “The blues just made the room feel so bright, and all the people were so nice”.
Marianna’s Pantry is “a family-oriented place for people of all ages to come and enjoy coffee and homemade pastries and homemade food made fresh. It’s a place for people to meet and catch up and enjoy each other,” according to owner, Melissa Cotto.
“I feel like Marianna’s brings a nice change to Trumbull. I have been working in a family-run business for over 25 years so when that closed down I felt like it was in my blood to be a business owner. My degree is in business but my heart is in baking and cooking so I wanted to open a business so I could have the flexibility to still have time for my kids and family (and) to be able to do things my way,” Cotto added.
The Pantry’s diverse menu has all kinds of Trumbull residents stopping in to grab a bite. Another Trumbull High School, sophomore Brooke Levine described the food as tasting “very homemade”. “Waffles are my favorite food and I would definitely say these are within the top ten favorite ones I’ve tried,” Levine said.
Marianna’s Pantry has a wide variety of favorite specialties: “It’s so hard to choose my favorite item on the menu, but I would have to say La Sbronza is my fave … and the Greek for lunch,” said Melissa Cotto. “They both bring a bunch of different flavors together”.
Small businesses have taken Trumbull by storm, with companies like Pure Poetry and Liv’s Gifts offering small boutiques and JBC Bagel, Corner Deli, and Plaskos all providing meeting spots for Trumbull residents to socialize and eat good food.
Marianna’s Pantry, an ethically sourced restaurant, opened in the summer of 2021. The café is located at 6528 Main St in Trumbull.