Italian sandwiches on freshly baked focaccia are coming to Kensington Market

Toronto can’t fill up fast enough on Italian-inspired sandwiches. And by this time next month, we’ll have even more to add to our abbondanza.

Related: Charlotte Day Wilson is ready to take your order at her new Italian sandwich shop

What started as an online source for freshly baked focaccia last fall has found a permanent home in Kensington Market. Uncle Pete’s Bread Co. is officially opening the third weekend of August, when it will sell the floofy focaccia and sandwiches that garnered the brand a following through custom catering and pop-ups at Black Lab Brewing.

“All of our ingredients and materials are sourced locally from Toronto businesses. We use Grace Meat Market on College for our meats, Cheese Magic in Kensington for our cheeses and International Cheese for our ricotta,” says owner and sandwich artist Pete Petrovic.

Related: This Kensington Market café makes some of the city’s best sandwiches

Signature creations include the Pesto Pete, which stacks creamy ricotta, house-made basil pesto and sliced heirloom tomatoes between thick slabs of focaccia. The OG, meanwhile, is an elevated sub sandwich of sorts that layers mortadella, prosciutto, soppressata, arugula, fresh lemon ricotta, sweet balsamic glaze and chili crisp. One of the non-sandwich staples are the focaccia bites, served with a dip dubbed the Holy Trinity Dip (a tangy, citrusy and spicy concoction of whipped lemon ricotta, basil pesto and chili crisp).

Uncle Pete’s will open at 161 Baldwin Street, where it will share space with Dipped Donuts—lunch on the right, dessert on the left.