About Great Ciao – a specialty food wholesaler and distributor

Selling exclusively to restaurants and retailers

Great Ciao has been providing chefs and specialty retailers in Minnesota and around the country with artisan and farmstead cheese and other hard to find ingredients since 1995, back when it was nearly impossible to find good cheese in the upper-Midwest.  In fact, our first air-freight shipment was prompted by a piece of overly funky Taleggio that tasted like a silo full of dirty socks.  After all, we might hale from the pale of civilization, but we had traveled. We had experienced cheese in Italy, and tasted truffles and foie gras from the Perigord.  And we were hungry.  So we got some nice folks in Italy to pack some chow on an airplane and our dinner got here posthaste.  Fresh.  That was an inspirational moment.

As a specialty food importer and distributor, Great Ciao is small, focused, and well-suited to bringing together the work of great producers, discerning chefs, top retailers, and adventurous consumers.  The Great Ciao crew is accustomed to products that come with great stories, have limited availability, and are highly perishable.  We import weekly air-freight shipments of cheese and other vittles directly to Minnesota from around the country and around the world.

To us, it’s just grub – tasty grub. We are happy to help you partake.

Shipping

Great Ciao sends tasty grub all over the country.  Customers outside of our delivery zone can have product shipped via Speedee, FedEx, overnight airport to airport, and by freight-trucking (refrigerated and standard.)

It should be noted that as a specialty-food wholesaler and distributer, we only work with customers who have set up a wholesale account with us.

Orders should be placed, with your salesperson or on our order line: 612.521.8725,  one day prior to expected shipping date.  We will always try to be flexible and accommodate unique situations as they arise.

We at Great Ciao know it is extremely important to ensure your goods arrive to you correctly-pristine. We will recommend the best possible shipping method taking into consideration shipment weight, weather conditions, cost, and day of shipping. 

Contact Us 

Restaurants and retailers with accounts, contact your representative to place orders.