DiCamillo Bakery

Tomaso DiCamillo and Addolorata Iannotti grew up in the Abruzzo region in Italy. They were part of a large influx of Italians who immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s and settled in Niagara Falls, NY. The couple married in 1903 and had twelve children. They opened DiCamillo Bakery in 1920.

Tomaso was only 19 when he arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1897. Family lore suggests that he chose Montreal for his port of entry because he “had an eye infection and […] feared being quarantined (or turned back) at Ellis Island.” 

Family lore also maintains that Tomaso chose Thanksgiving Day for his arrival in Niagara Falls, NY. The idea was that he’d cross the border and enjoy a meal of Thanksgiving on a “quintessential America[n] holiday.” 

“And how exactly he came to the United States, is yet another mystery. It is quite possible he simply walked across the bridge” from Niagara Falls, Canada to Niagara Falls, NY. 

Tomaso’s first job was at the Shredded Wheat Company in Niagara Falls. His strong work ethic and proficiency in English enabled him to rise to the rank of foreman. However, trouble arose when some criminals “‘asked’ him [not to] report inventory shortages.” The young immigrant had to make a terrifying choice: obey the criminals and become a criminal himself, or disobey the criminals and suffer the consequences. 

Ultimately, Tomaso decided to quit his job. This was very risky back then, especially since he had a wife and growing family to support. But Tomaso was a risk-taker. After all, he’d said goodbye to his native Italy and travelled across an ocean to take a chance on life in America. 

Tomaso took another chance when he bought a three-story building on 14th Street in Niagara Falls. Addolorata and her three oldest daughters opened a grocery store on the first floor. Tomaso and his sons baked bread in the basement ovens. They used horse-drawn wagons to deliver fresh-baked bread to their neighbors and to all the Italian delis in town. 

“I want to make sure my family always has bread,” Tomaso had said.

And he has done just that for over 100 years. As the company expanded, Tomaso provided hearth-baked bread, classic Italian baked goods, and plenty of jobs not only for his family and future generations of his family, but also for other families in Niagara Falls. Since his death in 1941, four generations of the DiCamillo family have continued to run the company. 

Today, DiCamillo Bakery has four retail stores in Western New York and their products are sold online and in stores nationwide. In 2022, the company was inducted into the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry.

Hope L. Russell, Ph.D.