With Bucknell being located in a town as small as Lewisburg, students form a close bond with the surrounding community. In an effort to support this community students will often frequent local small restaurants rather than larger fast-food chains. A particular favorite of the Bucknell students is Amami Kitchen and Espresso Bar located on south 6th street. This cafe is run and owned by married couple Davide and Lynsey Della Pietra and has been in operation since 2015. However, this past fall Amami decided to change locations and upgrade its menu adding tons of new items.
When asked about his journey to Lewisburg and the creation of Amami, Davide, explained how he grew up in Italy and moved to the United States when he was 23. He originally moved to San Diego where he joined his cousin who at the time owned an Italian restaurant. While in San Diego, he began to work in the fine dining industry and became acclimated with what is described as California cuisine. He defines California cuisine as, “a lot of infusion and combination of different types of food. I was originally an Italian guy who just wanted to play by the book all the time, however eventually after living there I got more playful with the ideas displayed and whatnot.”
After seven years in San Diego, Davide moved to the east coast where he and his partner at the time opened the Kind Cafe. The Kind Cafe is another small restaurant located in Selinsgrove, offering a variety of breakfast and lunch options.
He explained that during this time he also worked for Aramark managing the dining services for a university in the area. Although this was not the type of dining Davide hoped to be involved in, he explains how such a position helped him understand and learn different aspects of food management and the business behind it.
Finally, in 2015, Davide decided to start up a business in Lewisburg and open up Amami. “In 2015 I was walking in Lewisburg and I would always walk in Lewisburg and thought, ‘Oh man this town needs a coffee shop or something.’ And finally, I was walking one day and saw the little Amami building was for lease so I decided to take over.” He also explained he felt the location in relation to Bucknell would create an environment in which such cuisine would thrive.
Following the success of Amami and The Kind Cafe, the owners decided to further extend their business by opening Nido in 2019. Nido is an Italian dinner restaurant which offers a variety of pastas and other dishes. Unfortunately, following the events of the COVID-19 pandemic, the owners made the decision to close Nido and move Amami into that location on south 6th street. However, the owner explained that Nido may be brought back in the future, “I might introduce some dinners and do Nido by Amami, I’m not completely done with the idea of having Italian dinners at Amami.”
When moving into the Nido location, the owner also decided to increase the Amami menu adding new features and items. He explains the inspiration behind these new items, saying, “I tried to go back to my California roots by adding these fusions of classic Italian and a little more modern contemporary stuff.” He also mentioned how many of these items were tested as specials in the old Amami location however could not be added to the menu due to limited kitchen space. Other items, however, touched on classic Italian cuisine such as the brunch paninis. “This is the fusion cuisine because it’s not just a breakfast sandwich. A breakfast panini is a separate niche that’s a little different than the normal breakfast places.”
He also emphasized how wonderful his staff is and how essential they are to the Amami operation. “None of this would be possible without them, and some of them have been with me for many years and they are all just so great, especially given how uncertain things can become with the pandemic.”
Amami is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Kind Cafe is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Amami also accepts Bucknell Campus Dollars! Davide expressed how important his customers are to him as well as maintaining a certain standard with their food. Amami values customer feedback and such feedback ultimately drives them to continue to improve the Amami restaurant experience as a whole. Please stop by Amami before the semester ends and continue to support the Lewisburg local businesses!