Sort-of Secret: That Nonna Life, an event series celebrating Italian-Canadian culture

The sort-of secret: That Nonna Life, an event series and lifestyle brand that’s a love letter to Italian grandmothers. You may have heard of it if: You’re a Corso Italia local or you’re big on all things Italian and keep tabs on every café, bakery and pop-up on the strip. But you probably haven’t tried it because: The events vanish faster than Nonna’s Sunday sauce, and the capsule collections are rarer than her handwritten recipes.

This past September, anyone strolling down St. Clair West may have spotted a sidewalk lined with communal tables of happy diners clinking glasses of wine and twirling spaghetti like pros. This was That Nonna Life’s debut event: Sunday Sauce, a family-style celebration of Italian-Canadian culture. Hosted on the newly licensed patio of Tre Mari Bakery, the event turned a group of strangers into one big famiglia for the night.

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Sunday Sauce, which sold out in just two days, revealed a serious appetite for intimate gatherings. “It was a beautiful mix of older folks and families with young kids, all coming together over antipasti, spaghetti and Sicilian wine,” says Ariane Laezza, the creative force behind That Nonna Life. The success of the inaugural pop-up demonstrated that people are hungry for experiences that are familiar and informal—less sit-down restaurant, more Nonna’s kitchen party.

Organic and not overproduced is Laezza’s signature style, which is what makes That Nonna Life so relatable. What began in 2019 as a simple Instagram mood board of sorts quickly gained a devoted following. “I think it just resonated with people,” Laezza explains. “When I meet other Italian Canadians, it feels like we all grew up visiting the same grandparents—everyone had those white Monobloc patio chairs, a grandpa who used hockey sticks as tomato stakes and a plastic-wrapped couch in the living room that nobody was allowed to sit on.”

But it’s not just the aesthetics of Italian culture that Laezza celebrates—it’s the values associated with the older generations: growing your own food, making the most of what you have and slowing down. “There’s so much resilience in those traditions,” she says. “It’s a sustainable, intentional way to live, and I think people are craving that now more than ever.”

That Nonna Life first moved off the screen during the pandemic, when Laezza launched fashion capsule collections using deadstock fabrics from a now-shuttered Corso Italia store, including house dresses and aprons. As the brand evolved, the idea of hosting events naturally followed. That Nonna Life was also inspired by Laezza’s connection with Franco Deleo, part of the third generation running Tre Mari Bakery, a Corso Italia stalwart for over 60 years.

“I go to Tre Mari every single day for my bread and coffee,” says Laezza, who first met Deleo during the bakery’s annual soppressata festival. “Franco jokes that I crashed the festival and never left.” What began as a friendship soon grew into a creative partnership, with Tre Mari becoming the setting for That Nonna Life’s first-ever Sunday Sauce event. “The bakery is such a cornerstone of the neighbourhood,” says Laezza. “It felt like the natural place to bring people together.”

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The brand’s second event, Cantina Jam, brought the spirit of Italian basement parties to life. DJ Paul E. Lopes set the tone with vinyl classics oozing Pino D’Angiò swagger while guests enjoyed hard-to-find southern Italian wines and stuffed themselves with Tre Mari’s latest pasta creations and antipasti plates stacked with prosciutto, mortadella and locally crafted Italian-style cheeses from formaggio experts Sul Tavolo. And there was plenty of red sauce.

“My nonna had a basement bar and a record player embedded in the wall. The garage was the cantina where we kept the wine. So that’s how this particular event started,” says Laezza. “We came up with the name Cantina Jam, a play on words, and decided to make a small batch of tomato jam, a collaboration between That Nonna Life and Tre Mari. We ended up giving them out as party favours.”

As the night wore on, the vibes stayed impeccable. Tables of guests playing Scopa and Briscola kept the energy up as stories of nonnas flowed—along with plenty of wine. With more collaborations and events on the horizon, Laezza is gearing up to take That Nonna Life to the next level. “The goal is to grow it into an authentic lifestyle brand—one that celebrates Italian-Canadian culture in a modern, approachable way,” she says. She’s even dipping into the beauty industry with a tomato seed–based product line in the works. Move over, Gwyneth—Nonna’s coming for the tastemaker crown (we’ll take jars of sugo over jade eggs any day).

That Nonna Life, thatnonnalife.com, @thatnonnalife