Story and photo by Kevin Kozel, special to the Blog
They say good things come to those who wait, and for Kirin Chun and Luca Sacchetti the old adage seems to be true as they prepare to open Fortuna, an Italian sandwich shop, at 7619 Greenwood Avenue (the old Greenwood Cleaners space).
Chun and Sacchetti originally met about seven years ago while working together at El Gaucho. Kirin was the Executive Chef and Luca worked there on and off while exploring his music career. Eventually the two went on a trip to Italy to visit Sacchetti’s mother, where they were surrounded by plenty of great Italian food, including sandwiches. During their travels they confided that they were both ready to start something new. Why not a sandwich shop?
If they were going to do it, they were going to do it right, so they went back to Italy and started delving into the concept more. Sacchetti and Chun agreed that the bread would be the most important thing. It had to be Schiacciata (pronounced ski-a-chatta), a thinner, crispier bread than focaccia. It allows for a “marriage”, as Luca puts it, between the bread and what’s inside so there isn’t too much of one thing. To source this bread, they reached out to an old connection, chef and owner of Bakery Nouveau William Leaman, to not only perfect it, but become the only establishment that will offer it.
Chun and Sacchetti aren’t giving away full details on the menu just yet, but you can expect 7 different sandwiches. Five meat-based (think capicola, mortadella, prosciutto), a tuna sandwich, and one vegetarian. The meats and cheeses will all be imported, and there will be no more than 5 ingredients on a sandwich. This keeps the focus on the ingredients rather than allowing flavors to get lost.
Fortuna’s location also has a story of its own. Kirin used to live in the neighborhood years ago and would drive past it often. He told his girlfriend at the time, “If this place ever goes for sale, this would be a cool spot.” Then one day he got a phone call, “You’re not going to believe this, but there’s a for lease sign on the building.”
The shop will make use of features on the property that were overlooked when the space was a dry cleaner. The front window will now be used for takeout. The rear of the building, which had been mostly unseen, will now offer a patio with picnic tables and potentially other activities down the line. There is also talk of the take out window being open later at times to allow for late night eating; a rarity for the neighborhood.
As Luca says, “We’re very excited to bring a new experience to the neighborhood—building culture, love, fun, and good food. And when you come in, we want you to feel like you’re coming home.”
Fortuna is slated to open this August.