Why you should visit this iconic Italian shop in Worthing - before it shuts for good

Sheila Del Greco took the decision to close P&S Del Greco Italian Food Shop in Pavilion Road. She will serve customers for the final time on Saturday, September 28.

This eight months after the death of her husband and fellow business owner, Pasquale, at the age of 88.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Sheila, and her son, Tony earlier this month. I learned of the story behind the shop, which began when Pasquale moved from Italy to Bedfordshire in 1954 – where he met Sheila.

They later set up a mobile business in the Worthing area. They then opened a shop in Clifton Road and then Pavilion Road.

Tony explained: “My dad moved to Bedford with a lot of the Italians. He worked for Terroni of Clerkenwell – it was a huge Italian deli and warehouse in London. They have still got a massive Italian community in Clerkenwell.

“He started doing the south – Littlehampton, Horsham and Worthing.

“In it’s hay day, the shop sold everything and it was open six days a week. People did their weekly shop there.

“All five of us kids have helped in the shop over the years. I was five, helping on the old-fashioned tills. I soon learned how to add up properly.

"We did wholesale to a lot of the restaurants in Brighton – up until 2009 – every Wednesday.

"We delivered pallets and pallets of grapes up until last year.”

The shop became ‘a hub’ for the Italian community – with Sheila and Pasquale ‘sorting out flight tickets’ and taking passports to London for renewal.

They also ran their own amateur football team called Worthing Juventus.

Tony said the Italian community has ‘dwindled over the years’.

He added: “There were about 3,000 Italians here at one time but there’s not many left.”

Sheila and Tony recounted a challenging period when they became a lifeline for the local area during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We stayed open all the time in Covid,” Tony said. “You couldn’t get pasta anywhere else in the south. They were going so quick. Pasta and toilet rolls. We always had big stock of it.

"Once this pasta goes – you won’t get it anywhere else. That’s what the Italians are worried about. There’s no where in the south you can get. It is a shame but it’s the way things are. Supermarkets don’t have the same selection or high quality."

Having taken some of the pasta home to try – I can confirm what Tony told me about its high quality, with no doubt whatsoever. The taste is enough to transport you to Italy itself.

P&S Del Greco Italian Food Shop will be open for two more Saturdays (September 21st and 28th) – taking cash payments only.

Tony said: “Come and see us before it is all gone!”