Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Cupellini.
Hi Sabrina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My husband and I entered the restaurant business in Italy in 1995, when we opened our first café-crêperie on the island of Elba, in Tuscany. Our business was seasonal—open from Easter to Christmas—so we were closed for the rest of the year. We used that “free .time” to travel, something we had always loved doing. After traveling extensively around the world, we began visiting America and fell in love with it. In the meantime, we had two wonderful children, so we stopped traveling for a few years. However, the desire to return and explore new places here in America was strong, so we decided to come back during the summers when our children were on school break. It was during one of those summers that we began considering the idea of expanding our business to America as well. We started looking for a location that was, first and foremost, safe for our children and ideal for launching this new project, while remaining not too far from our beloved Italy, where we would be leaving our respective families.
So, we decided that Florida would be the perfect place. We began the process of applying for an E-2 investor visa, and once we secured it, we embarked on this new adventure. We opened our first business, “le Crepes,” inside the Avenues Mall. Within a few years, we achieved great success, but more importantly, we earned the appreciation of so many wonderful customers. Encouraged by this, we decided to open a second business—this time featuring the distinctly Italian style that defines us. And that is how “Sapori Caffè” was born—an authentically Italian café through and through. Success was immediate; for two and a half years now, we have proudly offered the unique, exclusive experience of a true Italian-style café right here in Jacksonville.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It certainly wasn’t easy. First, there was the challenge of obtaining the E-2 investor visa, followed by embarking on a project involving regulations and permits that were completely new to us—not to mention the language barrier. Living far away from our families was also incredibly hard, but we made it this far and, thank God, we can say we’ve brought our project to fruition with great success.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Sapori it’s an authentic Italian Cafe. We proudly serve Italian pastries like cornetti, bomboloni, sfogliatelle, bignè, etc and also Italian panini, Pinsa Romana e Focaccia Toscana. We also proudly serve the very famous Italian coffee brands Lavazza!
What make us unique is the originality of our products and our service.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
To come and experience it in person. As soon as they walk in, they will feel like having just landed in Italy.
Contact Info:
