When the doors open this January at Flora’s Italian Eatery and Angela’s Bar & Kitchen, at 12335 West Sample Rd., Coral Springs will gain more than a new dining destination — it will gain a full-fledged Italian experience, crafted by a family that has spent 50 years bringing the flavors of Italy to South Florida.
The two-story, 15,000-square-foot space in an office park with plenty of parking, just across from the Panthers IceDen, is the newest venture from Flora Fine Foods, the nationally recognized importer known for supplying everything from Italian wines to cruise line gelato.
For founder and owner John (Giovanni) Flora, 73, the vision is simple: create a market and restaurant that feels like Italy, tastes like Italy, and operates with the heart of a true Italian family.
A Parkland resident for the past 28 years, Flora was born in Bari, in Italy’s Puglia region, and immigrated to New York with his family in 1962 at the age of ten.
“We’re excited to open our doors and welcome the community into an extension of our home,” says Flora. “This is a true family business, and everything we do — at the eatery, the restaurant, and beyond — is inspired by the values we grew up with around the table.”
He raised his family in Parkland, and his daughter Angela Flora, 42, now a new mom, is a graduate of Coral Springs Middle School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. It was her vision to expand the business into a market and restaurant.
“It’s an ambitious undertaking, but a labor of love,” says Angela, who is juggling her roles with the business and as a mother to a nine‑month‑old son. “We cannot wait to meet you all and welcome you into our family.”
A Market That Starts at Breakfast and Ends at Dessert
Kenny Rodriguez, vice president of operations, sums it up simply: “Think Joseph’s — on steroids.”
On the ground floor, Flora’s Italian Eatery will function as an all-day market and café, offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Café tables invite guests to sit and relax, or they can order items to go.
The space will feature a wine room, a full deli, and shelves lined with specialty items imported directly from Italy. Fresh turkey and roast beef will be prepared in-house, sliced on top-of-the-line imported Berkel machines designed specifically for prosciutto and mortadella.
Guests can expect fresh breads, paninis, focaccia, bagels, and Roman-style pizza — both regular and gluten free — along with house-made sauces, soups, pastries, and gelato flown in from Italy. Brand-new Lavazza cappuccino machines will anchor the coffee program, ensuring every espresso tastes like it came from a café on Via del Corso.
“It’s about giving people the same culinary experience they’d have in Italy,” says Flora. “I want them to go, ‘Wow.’
Upstairs: A Bar, a Kitchen, and a Family Legacy
One flight up, Angela’s Bar & Kitchen will offer a more intimate, full-service dining experience. Named for Flora’s daughter, Angela, the restaurant will serve Italian-inspired small plates (piatti piccoli), craft cocktails, and a curated wine list in a warm, comfortable setting.
The kitchen will be led by executive chef Francesco Cavarretta, whose global culinary background brings a worldly touch to the family’s traditional recipes.
But the real secret ingredient is the family itself.
Flora Fine Foods is a true Italian-style family business, with multiple generations working side by side. Angela and her two brothers are involved in daily operations. Flora’s sister, Rose Farruggia, serves as human resources director. His wife, Irene, is a vice president of the company. His sons, John and Christopher, oversee food distribution and sales. Angela Flora’s uncles, Gregg and Mark Alpern, are directors of food service and export and complete the feeling of famiglia.
“Culture comes from passion and love in preparing your product,” Flora says. His passion is evident as he speaks about this labor of love. “I get my passion from my mother.”
A Half Century of Italian Flavor
Long before Flora Fine Foods became a national importer, Flora imagined a different future. He planned to become an electrical engineer, but a part-time job at a local Italian bakery changed everything, sparking a fascination with food that would shape the rest of his life.
While vacationing in Miami Beach in the early 1970s, Flora realized there was no good Italian pizza. If he wanted the real thing, he’d have to make it himself. In 1972, he bought a small property on the 79th Street Causeway and opened Flora’s Drive-Thru Pizza Parlor — his first entrée into the food business.
He later opened Flora’s Italian Restaurant in Hollywood, Fla. When other restaurateurs began asking about the products he used, Flora started importing tomatoes — then other goods — directly from Italy.
As demand grew, he ran out of storage space, eventually draining his backyard pool and filling it with cases of tomatoes. That makeshift warehouse marked the unofficial birth of Flora Fine Foods.
The opening of the eatery and restaurant is the natural evolution for a company that has spent five decades shaping the Italian food landscape in America.
Flora Fine Foods is now the largest distributor of Italian wine in the country and supplies cruise lines with ice cream and cookies. Their products appear on the shelves of Costco, Total Wine, and Publix — but the Coral Springs location will be the first time the public can experience the brand in a full culinary setting.
In addition to retail and dining, the new space includes a private function room and a large catering kitchen, allowing Flora’s to serve corporate events, private gatherings and celebrations throughout the region.
Bringing Italy Home
For Flora, this project is more than a business expansion — it’s the fulfillment of a lifetime of memories and a devotion to food and family that began with a boy from Bari, a drive‑thru pizza place and a dream that wouldn’t die.
“I’m not just bringing the food,” he says. “I’m bringing the culture of Italy. I want to bring that passion, that love, that experience here to South Florida.”
So, soon, when the first cappuccino is poured and the first slice of Roman pizza comes out of the oven, Parkland and Coral Springs residents will taste the culmination of one man’s journey — a vision and a love affair with a place where food, family and tradition come together under one roof.
Buon appetito!
For more information, visit florafoods.com or follow @FloraFineFoods on social media.
