Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Valenti's Meat Market & Bakery Review

Mid Rivers Newsmagazine is St. Charles County's exclusive direct-mailed community newspaper.

Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Restaurant Spotlight Archive

Valenti's Enjoys 68 Years Of Delicious Evolution

By Mary Ann O'Toole Holley

It is a remnant of a time when the friendly market not only sold the meat; it told you how to prepare it.

Valenti's Meat Market & Bakery has been going strong for 68 years, moving forward with a vigor that shows no end.

The trick?

Owner Tony Valenti says there is none.

"It's a matter of staying on top of things and responding to customers of today," Valenti said. "Twenty years ago we may have had five ready-to-eat selections in our meat counter. Today we have 50."

Valenti's Market on Mexico Road is a delight to behold. It is a one-stop-shop with more than enough food choices for a family to feast on. Pick up a steak for the grill, a side of homemade pasta with marinara sauce and perhaps a homemade pie made by Valenti's Aunt Patricia, and dinner will be a breeze for anyone who is settling down from a long day's work.

For 20 years, Valenti's Market was located in Black Jack, just outside of Florissant. The shop moved to St. Peters three years ago when most of Valenti's customers migrated across the river.

"We decided to open up out here to follow our customers," Valenti said. "Everybody is out here in St. Charles County, so we're here as a result."

Tony Valenti is a fourth generation owner of the quaint little market with the Italian décor and the aroma of freshly baked bread as one of its trademarks. His father, Frank, still works at the market, but it was Frank's grandfather who opened the business 68 years ago as Fairlane Select Foods at Jefferson and Cass avenues in Downtown St. Louis.

Meats, bakery items and Italian specialty foods are tops on the list of products at Valenti's Market, but catering and ready-to-eat foods are big drawing cards.

"In today's world, less and less people cook," Valenti said. "The key is to keep moving with the times."

Valenti's can deliver a week's worth of pre-cooked foods or meats, and delivers call-ahead orders of freezer pack meats.

Moving with the times, Valenti's provides an email preferred customer list in which sales are sent to customer's computers each week.

"We're trying to do different things," Valenti said. "We still make our own Italian sausage and bratwurst as we have for 68 years, but you have to evolve to stay in business."

Valenti's Italian sausage recipe goes back years and years, and Frank Valenti is still the only one who makes it or knows the recipe.

When it comes to catering, Tony Valenti is on top of things, bringing roast beef and more, mostaccioli, salads and party platters to groups of eight to 350.

"We got an order for 1,000 once, but opted against it," Valenti said. "We like to control the quality, and if you get too big, you lose that sometimes."

Quality meats are Valenti's mainstay in a business that has been honed to perfection.

"We know what to buy, how to buy, how to cut it properly and price it properly," Valenti said. "You won't find any prepackaged meats here. People don't want to see their meat in plastic wrap. For special occasions, barbecues or holidays, they want something special."

Being small, but serious about quality does have its downsides, Valenti said.

"People get mad when we run out of an item, but we want to turn our products in three days to make sure everything is fresh," Valenti said. "However, if we're out of the chicken spedini, we might have beef instead. It's just a matter of being flexible."

Valenti says his Aunt Patricia is a fabulous chef and does most of the cooking at Valenti's Market. Her homemade pies and baked goods are big sellers, and other specialty cookies are brought in from The Hill.

Joe the Baker has been baking bread at Valenti's for 30 years. The crusty outside and soft white insides beg for butter and can make for a meal in itself.

"What we don't make ourselves, we get from other specialty stores," Valenti said.

Volpi salami, G & W Bratwurst and Baldo's Gelato from the Hill fill the counters.

"People in St. Louis know these names," Valenti said. "Overall, however, everyone loves our filets."

Valenti's Market & Bakery, 6750 Mexico Rd., St. Peters, is open Mon - Fri: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Sat - Sun: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For catering, a call-ahead order or information, call 636-970-2992. Visit www.valentismarket.com for weekly specials and recipes.