Where we come from: the roots of Buon Cibo

In the early 1900s two fishermen left Porticello, Sicily, for San Diego. Their grandson, Tom Tarantino, opened Buon Cibo in Scripps Ranch, where he has lived for more than 40 years.

Buon Cibo Italian Specialties isn’t just a name—it’s a legacy seasoned with sea salt from Porticello, Sicily, and simmered in the vibrant flavors of San Diego’s Little Italy.

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Early 1900s

Two fishermen leave Porticello, Sicily, for San Diego. — 1984

The Tarantino family moves to Scripps Ranch.

30 years

Restaurant kitchens, markets, wine and catering. — 2026

Buon Cibo opens on Spring Canyon Road.

A century in the making

In the early 1900s two fishermen from Porticello, a small fishing village in Sicily, crossed an ocean to San Diego. Pietro Tarantino and Gaetano D’Acquisto arrived with their nets and the recipes their mothers had taught them, and settled in Little Italy — one of more than 6,000 Italian families who made the waterfront the tuna capital of the West Coast.

Tom Tarantino is their grandson. His father fished the same waters his grandfathers had, his mother came from Sicily, and the kitchen was the center of everything. That is where he learned that food is not only what you make. It is how you make people feel.

In 1984 the family moved to Scripps Ranch, and Tom has lived here ever since — more than 40 years on the same streets. Buon Cibo did not arrive in this neighborhood. It was built for the one that raised his family.

30 years, then his own door

Tom spent three decades between restaurant kitchens and the grocery trade, learning sourcing, produce, wine, operations and catering — and the quieter craft of making someone feel welcome the moment they walk in.

In 2016 he opened RoVino Rotisserie + Wine on Kettner Boulevard in Little Italy. San Diego Magazine named it Best New Restaurant in 2017, and it was named Best Italian Restaurant by San Diego Magazine and Ranch & Coast in 2018 and 2019, along with Best Wine Bar.

Buon Cibo — “good food” in Italian — opened in February 2026 at 10380 Spring Canyon Road, in the Livia community: an Italian deli, market, wine boutique and eatery with his name on the door and nobody else’s hand on the wheel. The 16-inch sandwiches, pinsa romana, cannoli filled by hand and heat-and-eat dinners are his. So is the wine wall, chosen over nearly a year with his cousin Thomas D’Acquisto: restaurant-quality bottles without the restaurant markup.

“I finally have the independence to do exactly what I’ve always envisioned. Excellence and quality across the board — from the wine to the bakery to every single thing we serve.”

Tom Tarantino · Eat like an Italian

At Buon Cibo, we’re not just serving food—we’re serving history, passion, and a slice of the good life. Because here, good food always equals good mood. Benvenuti!

Come by

The deli counter

Sandwiches, imported delicacies, and the case of things to take home for dinner.

The wine table

A themed Italian wine dinner every month, hosted by our Wine Captain.

The private room

40 seated, 60 standing, and no charge for the room itself.