Gemelli brings New Bern the Italian deli people kept asking for
Piero Passalacqua and bagel maker Giovanni Lentieri opened the deli and bagel shop in February 2025, in a former accounting office in the historic district. One of the twins it is named for runs it.
New Bern did not have a real Italian deli, and people kept telling Piero Passalacqua so.
In February 2025, Piero Passalacqua opened one with Giovanni Lentieri, who owns the Giovanni's Bagels shops. Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry sits in a former accounting office on Pollock Street in downtown New Bern. It pairs an Italian deli, with meats and cheeses sliced to order, pizza, pasta and stromboli, with a shop selling New York style bagels made daily.
“New Bern didn’t have a real Italian deli, and people would ask me online or mention it to us,” Piero Passalacqua told New Bern Magazine in May 2025. Piero Passalacqua's family runs La Casetta on Neuse Boulevard. The two partners met by chance, on a soccer field in Wilmington, the restaurant's website says.
The website says Piero Passalacqua took a hands-on role in the remodel, completing it alongside a team. The building sits in the city's historic district, and Piero Passalacqua worked with the New Bern Historical Society to keep its character.
Then there is the name. Gemelli means "twins" in Italian, for Piero and Paula Passalacqua's twins, Matteo and Giuliana.
Matteo Passalacqua moved full time from La Casetta to Gemelli as general manager when it opened, La Casetta's team page says. Gemelli's website now lists four co-owners: Piero Passalacqua, Matteo Passalacqua, Giovanni Lentieri and Giuseppe Amato.
One of the twins the deli is named for now runs it, and owns part of it.
About this story
By Sotwire Desk. Written by Sotwire Desk from the sources below. Not a company attestation.
Sotwire Desk. Written by a named Sotwire editor from the sources cited below. Not a company attestation. Sotwire corrects errors publicly.
Key facts
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry
- New Bern, NC
- Launches
- Desk reported
- Sotwire Desk
- 211 Pollock St., downtown New Bern, NC
- February 2025
- Office of the accounting firm Brinkley Elam & Knott, PA
- Piero Passalacqua, Matteo Passalacqua, Giovanni Lentieri and Giuseppe Amato
- New Bern Magazine's May 2025 profile listed Paul McDonald in place of Matteo Passalacqua; neither source dates the change
- Matteo Passalacqua
- La Casetta, Neuse Boulevard, New Bern
- Mon–Thu 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m.; Fri–Sat 7:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m.; Sun 8 a.m.–2 p.m., breakfast only
- Served until 10:45 a.m.
- Not taken; walk in or order ahead online for pickup
- Arranged by phone at 252-631-2030
- Street parking on Pollock Street, plus a paved driveway to a lot behind the building with room for 15 to 20 cars
Key events
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry opened on Pollock Street
- Matteo Passalacqua moved full time from La Casetta to Gemelli as general manager
- New Bern Magazine published its profile of Gemelli
Sources
- Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry · New Bern Magazine (Ann Marie Byrd) · accessed 2026-10-17
- Our Story · Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry · accessed 2026-10-17
- Visit · Gemelli Italian Deli & Bagelry · accessed 2026-10-17
- History of La Casetta · La Casetta · accessed 2026-10-17
- La Casetta New Bern team page · La Casetta · accessed 2026-10-17