Claire Criscuolo

Claire LaPia and Frank Criscuolo were married on February 22, 1975. Claire was a registered nurse and Frank was a musician who played bass and lead guitar. The two were madly in love and wanted to spend as much time as possible together. The solution? Start a business and work together!

Claire loved to cook and was raised in a traditional Italian-American family. Her mother was obsessed with eating delicious, fresh, homemade food. Her mother’s mantras were “eat this, it’s good for you” and “we don’t eat foods with ingredients I can’t pronounce”. Claire wanted to cook that way for the masses and opened Claire’s Corner Copia on September 17, 1975. The rest, as the saying goes, is history.

If you’ve ever been to New Haven, it’s right there in the heart of the city on the corner of Chapel and College Street. It’s a New Haven institution and Claire’s was organic before it was a trend and marketing buzz word.

Claire Criscuolo joins us and shares her story of growing up in Worcester Square, the story behind the Corner Copia name, her undying passion for good food and all of the lessons learned running her own kitchen.