WATERVILLE — Candace Savinelli makes Italian pastries with such authenticity she recently attracted a customer all the way from Palermo.

Palermo, Maine, that is.

Additional Photos

SWEET BUSINESS: Matt Savinelli holds a tray of a variety of cannoli and other pastries at the new Holy Cannoli! bakery on Main Street in Waterville. Staff photo by David Leaming

Nonetheless, Savinelli’s new business — Holy Cannoli! on Main Street — offers something that’s unique to the area, and also offers hope that more shoppers will be drawn downtown, some say. The store, which opened June 19, sells cannoli and other Italian pastries, plus to-go meals including lasagna, chicken parmesan sandwiches and pepperoni and provolone-stuffed breads.

“The first day I opened up, I sold out,” Savinelli said.

Savinelli, whose maiden name is Chase, didn’t grow up in an Italian family, but she married into one and picked up culinary skills from her mother-in-law.

“I married an Italian guy, and learned from his mother everything that my mother was doing wrong,” she quipped.

Savinelli said her husband’s grandparents are immigrants, with ancestry in Sicily and Naples. She said it wasn’t difficult to accept coaching from a mother-in-law.

“Once I had her food, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is so good,'” Savinelli recalled.

From her mother-in-law, Savinelli learned that lasagna should made with fresh pasta, and fresh ricotta and fresh mozzarella — Italian cheeses that she pronounces in the Italian manner, rigote and mootzerell.

Savinelli was born in Gardiner and lived in Waterville until her father — Ken Chase, a radio announcer for WTVL — accepted a job in Connecticut. Savinelli spent the next 40 years soaking up culture in an Italian neighborhood. Eleven years ago, she moved back to Waterville with her husband and family.

“We were used to having Italian food that we don’t have up here,” she said. “When we moved up here I said, there’s a need for this.”

The idea for a pastry shop, however, would take a decade to rise. In the meantime, Savinelli worked for almost five years in City Hall, and wowed her coworkers with her cooking, she said.

Kimberly Lindlof, president and chief executive of the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce, is one person who has tried Savinelli’s pastries. She said they’re a hit, and the store could be, too.

Lindlof also said the opening of Holy Cannoli!, the planned opening of a Japanese restaurant in JFK Plaza and renovations to McDonalds and Applebees on Kennedy Memorial Drive could be signs of an improving local economy, particularly for restaurants.

“Those national chains wouldn’t be reinvesting into Waterville if they weren’t getting a return on it,” she said.

On the other hand, however, is the recent departure of The Last Unicorn — a decades-old institution on Silver Street.

“The restaurant business is the toughest business to be in. We see them coming and going and coming and going,” she said. “It’s really sad when one that has had the staying power of The Last Unicorn closes its doors. It leaves a mark on the community.

“But we’re hopeful that someone with ideas, enthusiasm and energy will come in, occupy the space and fill the void.”

Property manager Bruce Fowler said he has shown the site to four parties — two of whom are prospective restaurateurs — but there are no solid plans for the space.

Shannon Haines, executive director of Waterville Main Street, said Holy Cannoli! fills a need. Every other year since 2003, Haines has circulated a survey asking shoppers what businesses they would most like to see downtown. On every survey, “bakery” has been in the top five.

Haines said she’s happy to scratch that item off the list.

“We’re thrilled. It’s very exciting that they decided to open downtown,” she said.

Other businesses mentioned on surveys include a book seller for adult readers, a clothing store and a convenience store.

Haines said one aspect of downtown development is a concept called clustering, or providing several similar businesses in the same area.

“For instance, we have a nice jewelry (store) cluster in downtown Waterville,” she said. “People know if they want to buy jewelry, they can come downtown and they have multiple places they can consider, and that makes Waterville more of a destination for that type of shopper.”

Holy Cannoli!, on the other hand, is more of a destination unto itself because it’s selling products that cannot be found elsewhere, Haines said.

“It’s going to be a traffic-driver for businesses around it,” she said.

Savinelli said her store has seen steady traffic from day 1. She added that she will hold a grand opening soon, but she’s not sure of the date. For now, she’s focused on keeping up with demand.

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