Beloved St. Paul Restaurateur Dies Unexpectedly In Italy Days After International Win

ST. PAUL, MN — Dave Cossetta, the owner of the West 7th Street Italian market and restaurant that has carried his family's name for more than a century, has died, his family and staff announced Thursday.

Cossetta died unexpectedly in Rome, according to a statement from the Cossetta family and team, which said his wife, Gail, members of his staff, and many friends and relatives were with him.

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Just days earlier, Cossetta's had taken home two international awards at the Coppa del Mondo del Panettone, the statement said.

"Dave loved his family, his city, and the people who walked through his doors," the statement read.

Cossetta was 70, the Star Tribune reported. He was the fourth generation of his family to run the business, which got its start in 1911 as a small market in St. Paul. He was only 21 when he took the reins of the family grocery, and in 1988 he relocated it to West 7th Street and expanded it well beyond a neighborhood store, a move he called a major gamble at the time, according to the newspaper.

According to the family, Cossetta's next goal was to introduce Cossetta to the rest of the country through its panettone, the Italian sweet bread he had spent more than 15 years perfecting.

Service details will be shared once they are available, the family said.