Caffe Della Volpe brings authentic Italian recipes to life

By Mareska Chettiar, Staff Reporter

Caffe Della Volpe, run by Jennifer Ehlers and Tom Martiniccho, makes authentic Italian food with a healthy twist. It opened in November 2022 at 312 Swedesford Road, Berwyn, and is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ehlers and Martiniccho were inspired to open a café while they were on a trip to Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic. They found the taste and different kinds of food interesting and decided to recreate it using high-quality, locally sourced ingredients. 

“Before we went to Italy, we would just drink coffee and put cream and sugar in it,” Ehlers said. “But while we were there, we were just drinking espressos and cappuccinos… and it was so much more delicious.”

The café is named after Martiniccho’s grandmother, Martha Volpe, who used to host people and cater for them every Sunday with traditional Italian food. They wanted to continue her tradition of hosting, and use her focaccia, biscotti and pizzelle recipes to retain the authenticity.

The café also features different kinds of coffees, teas, smoothies, gelatos and sandwiches. Their specialties include their roast pork sandwich, focaccia pizza and Italian hot chocolate. Many of their gelato flavors are inspired by cocktails, and they also offer to make custom flavors. Ehlers and Martiniccho worked together to perfect their various recipes over many years before opening the café.

“We tried to take a concept that was familiar to a lot of people and put our own twist on (it)… we wanted to make things that we thought were really good and that other people would really enjoy,” Martiniccho said. 

Almost all their ingredients are sourced locally from farmers markets and local Italian stores. They find it easier to use high quality ingredients since their food is made in small batches and according to orders placed by customers. 

“You pick the quality (ingredient) first and then try to find the cheapest, rather than going for the cheapest and hoping it works out,” Martiniccho said.  

Ehlers’ company Veggielicious Foods, which she started early 2019, also has products featured at the caffe. Veggielicious combines vegetables into foods that are usually unhealthy to make them nutritious, like their olive oil cupcake with one cup of spinach in it. Veggielicious items can be ordered from the menu and are also available at local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. 

“When you walk in, there’s a bakery case that is filled with muffins and cupcakes all with sneaky veggies in them,” Ehlers said.  

Caffe Della Volpe will release nine new gelato flavors in late March. Their motto of using locally sourced quality ingredients to make healthy, authentic Italian dishes gives their customers a unique and delicious experience and keeps them coming back for more. 

Mareska Chettiar can be reached at [email protected].