Alisa Barry reopens Bella Cucina at the Shops Buckhead Atlanta

Just in time for those last-minute holiday gifts
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Owner Alisa Barry.

Photograph courtesy of Bella Cucina.

When Alisa Barry closed her popular Bella Cucina Virginia-Highland retail store in 2013, it wasn’t the end of her business, although it might have seemed that way if you only knew the Italian lifestyle brand through its brick-and-mortar location. Barry, who has been in business for 24 years, continued to operate her wholesale line of Bella Cucina products—which are sold at Whole Foods, Crate and Barrel, and boutique stores through the country and Canada—out of a space in East Point. Wholesale is 97 percent of her business. “If you’ve been around the block, you’re bound to run into some adversity, which we have done more than once,” said Barry. “The key is, do you have a good enough product and enough perseverance and weather the storm?”

An assortment of Bella Cucina products.

Photograph courtesy of Bella Cucina.

But just in time for the holidays, Barry has opened a Bella Cucina brick-and-mortar once again in the Shops Buckhead Atlanta. Barry says her store isn’t a pop-up—it’s there to stay. Shoppers can expect to find Bella Cucina’s signature Italian spreads and sauces, such as lemon curd and artichoke and lemon pesto, all in a boutique designed in a dreamy, modern European aesthetic. She is also holding classes, such as a cheese tasting on December 21 with famed cheesemonger Tim Gaddis (formerly of Star Provisions) and a hands-on pasta making class. Since the space is sizeable at 3,300 square feet, Barry also plans to use the Buckhead store as an events space. But at the end of the day, the food comes first. “I’m very passionate about our product. It’s really the foundation of everything that we do,” she says. 262 Buckhead Avenue, 404-390-3092

An assortment of Bella Cucina products.

Photograph by Megan Huntz

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