A Taste of Success: La Focaccia’s rapid rise continues in Bolton

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A line wrapped around 365 Healey Road this Saturday morning, as the community prepared to celebrate La Focaccia's grand re-opening.

The beloved sandwich shop has been open for just seven months, but the speed at which it's grown warranted a brand-new welcome from the community.

For those who haven't seen the numerous posts on social media, people have been travelling from all over the Greater Toronto Area to get a taste of Italy, right here in the heart of Bolton.

Brothers Jonathon and Stefan Cambouris opened La Focaccia in an industrial kitchen this past October, with a dream of bringing perfection to everyone who tries their handmade classics.

Their menu consists of the brothers' own favourite creations, classic Italian favourites, and features homemade focaccias, house-made pesto, and various flavours of mortadella, Stracciatella, and basil.

The two Bolton locals grew up with homemade cooking and knew the importance of bringing that care and dedication to their own storefront.

And now, it's grown beyond their wildest dreams.

To help celebrate with the community that made it possible, La Focaccia gave out free sandwiches, thanks to their renovation partners, Active Floors, to the first 100 people who lined up on the day of the grand re-opening.

Three Bolton locals themselves held the first spots, saying they showed up at 9:30 a.m., an hour and a half before opening, just to be first in line.

“I'm super excited, I'm super blessed,” says Jonathon Cambouris. “I never even imagined it would turn into someone like this.”

He and the team at La Focaccia were busy prepping hundreds of fresh loaves, sauces, and sandwiches for the big day.

For Cambouris, this has always been his passion, so to see it take off at such lengths, he says, is “super exciting.”

A large part of their reopening was to give them time to renovate and recreate the front entryway of their store.

Operating out of an industrial kitchen, the renovations created an “inviting and welcoming” entry point, where customers can order at the brand-new counter, complete with a drink fridge for easy access.

“You want it to be more inviting for the customer when you walk in,” says Cambouris.

To see how loved their business is and has become a community staple, he says he's in awe of the attention they've received.

“I haven't even really taken it in yet. I still can't even believe everything that's happened so far,” he says. “I'm just super, super grateful at the end of the day because there's a lot of businesses, and it's hard to grow like this and do it in such a short amount of time.

“I'm just very thankful.”

La Focaccia is already expanding, as Cambouris is set to open its second location in Port Carling.

“I fell in love with Port Carling when I visited for the first time. I always knew that I wanted that to be my second location, and it was just honestly perfect timing,” says Cambouris. “I talked to my mom, my brother and my partners, and we just thought it was a great fit for us.”

“I've been teaching my brother the sourdough, so he's almost going to be a master soon,” he adds. “I trust him to handle everything, and I can't wait to be up there and just be able to share our food there as well.”

The Bolton location will be left in the capable hands of Stefan Cambouris, who many have already seen working in the kitchen with his brother, crafting their famous creations.

With their renovations complete and their grand re-opening officially held, the team at La Focaccia looks forward to welcoming one and all back to their business.

The store is located at 9-365 Healey Rd, Bolton, and their menu is posted on social media at lafocacciasandwiches.