Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets’ Namesake Founder Dies

Angelo Caputo, the founder of the Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets independent grocery store chain, has died, according to a published report. He was 89. The funeral mass was scheduled for June 18.

Born Jan. 1, 1932, in Mola Di Bari, Italy, Caputo made his way to Chicago as a young man and opened his first grocery store in 1958 in Elmwood Park, Ill., the Daily Herald reported. Since that time, the family-owned business, known for its impressive prepared food selection, has grown to employ more than 1,600 people at stores in Addison, Bloomingdale, Elmwood Park, Hanover Park, Naperville, South Elgin and Carol Stream, Ill. 

A widower since 2004, Caputo is survived by three children, including the business’ president, Antonella Caputo Presta, whose husband, Robertino Presta, is CEO; 11 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets received an Illinois Food Industry Leadership Award from the Illinois Food Retailers Association (now merged with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association) in 2017. In 2019, the grocery store chain won an Outstanding Independents award from Progressive Grocer for its high-quality store-brand products, sold under the La Bella Romana label, which had been named for Caputo’s wife.