Italian Food Imports for the Street Windsor Calls Via Italia

Erie Street had 429 Italian-Canadian residents in 1921. Ten years later, that number had passed 2,000. A century on, the street is an official Business Improvement Area under its own name, Via Italia, and it still runs its annual cycling race, Tour di Via Italia, billed as Ontario's oldest international street race.

That's not a neighbourhood that adopted Italian food as a trend. It's one that built its identity around it, block by block, for generations.

GiGi Importing supplies the restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and grocers along Erie Street and across the rest of Windsor with Italian products grown, produced, and packaged in Italy before being shipped directly into Canada. On a street with this much history riding on getting it right, nothing in the assortment is a local substitute.

Browse Our Product Collections

Family-owned since 1979
100% of products grown, produced and packaged in Italy
Nearly 700 items in assortment
National distribution across Canada

Italian Food Imports Built for Windsor's Via Italia

Erie Street packs more bakeries, restaurants, and cafés into a single strip than almost anywhere else in the city, and that density changes what a supplier needs to deliver.

Family businesses on Erie Street have often operated for generations, and they tend to favour long-term supplier relationships over switching for a marginally lower price.
Windsor sits directly across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, and Via Italia draws cross-border visitors who expect the same standard they'd find in Italy, which raises the bar on what "authentic" needs to mean.
A concentrated commercial strip like this means word travels fast between businesses, so a supplier's reputation on Erie Street matters well beyond any single account.

Italian Food Products We Supply in Windsor

Cookies & Crackers: Italian biscuits and wafers that fit naturally alongside the pastry cases and coffee counters that have anchored Erie Street for decades. Browse the Cookies & Crackers collection.
Beverages & Coffee: Italian espresso and coffee products for the cafés that give Via Italia its daily rhythm. See our Beverages & Coffee collection.
Oils & Vinegars: Olive oils and balsamic vinegars sourced directly from Italy, a detail regular Via Italia customers notice. Explore the Oils & Vinegars collection.
Pasta & Gnocchi: Traditional dried pasta and fresh gnocchi, the backbone of any Erie Street menu built on real Italian cooking. View the Pasta collection.

GiGi Importing Coverage Across Windsor

Via Italia on Erie Street remains the heart of Windsor's Italian food business, but GiGi Importing's coverage extends across the wider city. That includes Walkerville, Riverside, Sandwich, South Windsor, and Downtown, alongside Erie Street itself.

Why Windsor Businesses Choose GiGi Importing

Family-Owned Since 1979: GiGi Importing has supplied Canadian businesses with Italian products for over four decades, now on its third generation of the founding family, a history many Erie Street business owners will recognize in their own.
100% Direct-from-Italy Sourcing: Every product is grown, produced, and packaged in Italy, not made locally under an Italian name. On a street where customers can tell the difference, that's not a marketing line.
Nearly 700 Products in Assortment: From coffee to pasta to baked goods, the range covers what Erie Street's restaurants, cafés, and bakeries need without juggling multiple suppliers.
National Distribution Reaching Southwestern Ontario: GiGi Importing's distribution network is built to serve businesses across Canada, including Windsor's Via Italia district and the wider city.

Frequently Asked Questions About Italian Food Imports in Windsor

Why is Erie Street's Via Italia such a strong market for authentic Italian food?

The area has a documented Italian-Canadian community dating to the early 1900s, and it's now an official Business Improvement Area built around Italian restaurants, cafés, and bakeries that have operated there for generations.

Does GiGi Importing supply small family-owned bakeries and cafés, or only larger accounts?

GiGi Importing works with restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and grocers of every size across Windsor, which reflects how Erie Street's businesses are actually run.

What's the difference between authentic Italian imports and "Italian-style" products?

Authentic imports are grown, produced, and packaged in Italy before being shipped to Canada. "Italian-style" products are typically made locally and only inspired by Italian recipes.

Where can a restaurant near Erie Street source genuinely imported Italian pantry staples?

GiGi Importing supplies restaurants, cafés, and bakeries throughout Via Italia and the rest of Windsor with directly imported pasta, coffee, oils, and baked goods, and also ships to individual customers in the area.

Get Started with GiGi Importing in Windsor

Erie Street built its identity on real Italian food, one generation of business owners after another. GiGi Importing supplies the products that keep that standard intact, sourced directly from Italy rather than approximated locally.

Browse Our Brands to see the full lineup, read About Us for the family history behind four generations of sourcing, or check Areas Served to see where else GiGi Importing supplies businesses across Canada.

Call (647) 371-1731 to talk about wholesale supply for your restaurant, café, bakery, or grocery business in Windsor.