Ask Rosario Mazzeo where he gets the motivation to continue coming to work at his Roma Market in Pasadena each day at 83 years old, and the answer is simple: “You gotta like what you do—that’s it. If you don’t like what you do, do something else.”
He was 15 when he first started working here and proudly tells L.A. TACO he’s taken “no days off, seven days a week in 72 years”. His daily lunch of choice is a plate of fresh figs if they are in season, and grapes, if they are not, with some freshly baked sliced bread.
At 4 P.M. on a recent Tuesday, he is taking a short break on his old throne of a wooden chair, visible as soon as you enter Roma Market. He’s been up since 4 A.M. restocking the shop’s cheeses, tinned fish, olives, and specialty pasta, all imported from Italy.