From food nomad to neighborhood fixture, Little Joe’s finds a home in East Valley

For much of his life, Joe Gerace has been something of a food nomad.

From Caribbean beach bars to Denver food trucks, his culinary path wound through different kitchens, countries, and concepts.

But with the opening of Little Joe’s Italian Market in Gilbert, just steps from his home in Chandler, Gerace and his life partner, Allie Lewis, say they have finally found a place to put down roots.

Gerace’s family history in food goes back generations. His great-grandfather cooked at the Waldorf Astoria, and Gerace grew up watching chefs in the basement kitchen of a New York country club where his father worked.

That early exposure set him on a journey that included culinary school, restaurant ventures abroad, and years running lobster roll food trucks across the U.S.

He laughs at the path th