Restaurateurs Lani and Joel Gargano invite you to be a copycat when it comes to cooking the way they do. And they aren’t afraid to show you how, thanks to their newest food venture, Gargano Pasta & Italian Market in Old Saybrook.

“I think coming in here inspires people,” said Lani Gargano, about the new Main Street destination that is a combination bakery/cafe and boutique featuring imported ingredients and freshly made pastas and breads.

“We want people to come in and see that they can buy what they need to make simple but delicious food,” said Gargano, who with her chef husband also owns the famed Grano Arso restaurant in Chester.

“We’re OK with the choice of cooking it yourself rather than eating at our restaurant,” she said. “We just want people to be happy about what they are eating.”

Emphasizing that good ingredients are the key to amazing dishes at home, the Garganos’ market is an inspiration for those who want to create simple but delicious Italian-inspired recipes.

Step into the store and you are immediately motivated, thanks to a larger-than-life hand-painted mural by Jaime Jones featuring near-ready-to-be-harvested sheaves of wheat, an homage to pasta, Gargano explains.

Ready to shop? The centerpiece “pasta lab” inside features carefully trained staff kneading and rolling a wide variety of pastas—the perfect base for an at-home Italian dish.

“Joel spent an immense amount of time training our pasta makers,” explained Gargano about the methodical and labor-intensive process of turning flour and eggs into ready-to-cook rigatoni, fettuccine, ravioli, orecchiette and more, including some allergy-friendly, gluten-free choices.

“We made the pasta lab very open and a place where customers can watch the process,” she said. “We want them to get excited by seeing what we are doing and the pasta that we make.”

Move on to the rows and rows of sophisticated displays of imported and locally sourced products including olive oils, balsamic vinaigrettes, cured meats and tomato sauces that are key to simple, traditional Italian fare.

“When we buy our ingredients to use for our restaurant dishes, we take notes about what we liked and what we didn’t as we cooked,” said Gargano about the array of products, including gourmet marmalades, pastes, nuts and honey. “The ingredients we liked, we put in our market and showcase those products, so our guests understand why our dishes taste like they do.”

The market features local products as well, and not just because they are the best, but because the Garganos are committed to the success of fellow small businesses and local producers.

“We see it as a way for small businesses to support each other,” Gargano explained. “I help the person I buy it from, and then I benefit from the person who buys it from me. It’s a good business move because it generates business for several small businesses and farms in Connecticut.”

If cooking at home is not your best option and you want a little help in the food prep department, or just want to take a break and enjoy someone else’s cooking, this is the place, as well.

Sip a cappuccino, espresso or latte made fresh at the coffee bar inside the European-chic spot, or on the cozy patio, where you can watch the world go by on Old Saybrook’s quaint Main Street. Choose some fresh-baked pastries, breads or desserts, or meals like the casarecce pasta twists and mussels, a seasoned beef sandwich or Roman-inspired misticanza, or mixed green salad, and savor in-house or to go.

“The concept is great,” said Edward Jones III, Gargano’s general manager and former executive chef at the Firebox restaurant in Hartford.

“You can come here, shop, ask questions, bring it home and enjoy,” he said. “This is a place where you can not only find the products for a great meal, but get help from staff on how to do it at home.”

The Garganos said they are thrilled with the reception of their new shop so far, emphasizing they see it not only as an extension of their well-known restaurant and philosophy, but a reflection of the cooking-at-home trend that emerged during the restrictions brought on by COVID-19.

“We love it when we see pictures of the final dishes made with our products posted on social media,” said Gargano.

“We had one customer who bought what she needed here and then posted an Instagram of the tomato sauce and burrata salad that she created. It was so cute and an honor,” Gargano said. “It’s what we want to do with this market. We want to bring people out and inspire them by taking great ingredients to make outstanding food.”

Gargano Pasta & Italian Market, 75 Main St., Old Saybrook, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. but look for expanded hours soon. Closed Monday. 860-339-3726. garganopasta.com