Table of Contents
The coffee maker has stopped working. The music isn’t playing. Staff members hired to work haven’t arrived.
But Caffé Ducali is open.
Owner Philip Frattaroli is sitting in the 28-seat, light-filled café on this sunny Veterans Day as Winchester residents wander in and out of the 959 Main St. location. They are curious about the small bistro.
“People are very excited about it and we’re excited, too,” Frattaroli said, of the soft opening on Nov. 11. “We still have to figure out some staffing issues, but we’ll get the right team in place. I can’t figure out the music so we’re still working out the kinks.”
Frattaroli said the town finally signed off on all the required permits for the café’s opening on Nov. 10.
It’s been a long time coming.
Frattaroli initially bought the building in 2022 after having an idea for a location that would not only serve as a quick pick up café, but as a storage site and possible pasta-making facility for Filmark Hospitality Group, of which he is a co-owner and managing partner.
Filmark also owns the two Lucia’s restaurant locations in Winchester and the North End in Boston and another Caffé Ducali, opened by the family in 2009, also in the North End.
In 2024, Frattaroi started the renovations to the building, which once housed a reptile store and a video store before that. The building was built in 1928 as a peacoat factory.
“I saw the potential of all that space,” he said. “I wanted a café or someplace people could get a light lunch.”
A look inside the brand new Caffé Ducali, located at 959 Main St. WINCHESTER NEWS STAFF PHOTOS/NELL ESCOBAR COAKLEY
What’s it serving?
Initially, the café wasn’t going to serve pizza, Frattaroli said, in respect to the Rauseo family, who owned Gloria’s Pizzeria right down the road. But once it was sold to new owners, Frattaroli started looking into Roman-style pizza for the location.
He said the final kitchen area has a red and black pizza oven, modeled after Winchester’s signature colors, and will offer not only pizzas, but typical bakery fare, such as scones, croissants and some Italian-style goodies.
Additionally, Frattaroli said he’d like to gear up to making breakfasts. The coffee, he added, is made by a barista.
Frattaroli said there’s also a private space on the first floor, where he’d like to offer classes and tastings for Winchester residents.
NewsMatch is our biggest fundraising campaign of the year. Your donation could be doubled, or even tripled. To make the most of your donation, hit the button now. Thank you for supporting local news.
Why did it take so long?
Caffé Ducali was originally set to open to the public in September 2025. But there were difficulties.
Frattaroli said there were unanticipated delays. The financing for the project, he explained, were based on receiving town approvals for permits. Those came later than expected.
Getting zoning changed for a non-conforming structure also took a long time since the location was once the Jabberwocky pet store and Frattaroli was looking to turn it into a food-serving, retail establishment.
It’s the first time the town, via the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), has granted the change.
There was also the matter of a liquor license.
In the meantime, Winchester Town Meeting voted zoning changes in 2024 with the Main Street Mixed Use District.
Frattaroli said that was a great step forward for the business community, but hampered Caffé Ducali’s development because the ZBA ruling prevented him from doing what the town had just voted was a “by right” process.
Was it frustrating?
“Yes,” he said. “Things changed so quickly.”
But eventually, those issues worked themselves out to the point where the doors are finally open.
Frattaroli said there will be a grand opening some time in the future, but that’s not on his radar at the moment.
Right now, he’s focused on getting the business off the ground and running smoothly.
What’s next?
Frattaroli laughed and shook his head when asked what’s next for him. He said he recently sold his East Boston restaurant Cunard Tavern.
In summer 2025 Cunard Tavern was named Best Neighborhood Restaurant, East Boston in Boston Magazine’s 2025 Best of Boston.
Frattaroli said he made the decision to focus on both Lucia’s and Caffé Ducali locations because he really wanted to be closer to home.
“My kids are at that age, where there’s a lot happening when they get out of school in the afternoons,” he said. “The shuffle is just too difficult for one parent so I decided I wanted to be there, to help.”
And, he added, Caffé Ducali has taken up four years of his life.
“I’m at this time in my life where I want to simplify,” he said. “And I want to spend time with my kids.”
In the meantime, he said Caffé Ducali is going to fit nicely into Winchester’s burgeoning food scene.
With no social media announcements or fanfare on this Veterans Day, Frattaroli takes time to speak to residents who wander in, curious about the newest food location in the town.
He said it’s a very exciting time for him, personally and professionally.
“I am excited,” he said. “This has been a time for me where my kids have been very involved with the [café]. They’ve been giving me suggestions on what they’d like to eat and what things should look like. So, yeah, it’s exciting.”
Nell Escobar Coakley has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gotta Know Medford and editor of Winchester News. She can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
