By Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
GREENWICH VILLAGE — Little Italy's coming to the West Village.
A new panini and coffee shop featuring authentic Italian fare, is set to open in a former kids shoe store at 150 West 10th Street, near Waverly Place.
MoMo Caffe's owner Ernesto Barricelli says that the emphasis of the cozy eatery, which he would like to open in May, will be on quality, imported, organic ingredients.
"I hope to bring everything which is Italian 100 percent," said the father of two young boys, who lives in Chelsea.
"Our motto is: Simply Italian, simply good."
Barricelli hopes to feature 21 types of white and red wines, one for each region of Italy.
MoMo, an Neapolitan expression that means "now, fast," will also serve 21 types of panini.
The Zingara, or "gypsy," for instance, will have prosciutto di parma, buffalo mozzarella, lettuce, tomato and mayo.
In the morning, the shop will serve Italian coffee and pastries. Then in the afternoon, it will be panini and cold plates like prosciutto crudo and salami.
Manning the kitchen will be Barricelli's friend from the old country.
The 39-year-old owner, who hails from Ischia, off the coast of Naples, where he managed a seafood restaurant, moved to the US three years ago after meeting his wife, Kristina, 31, a hair stylist.
After toiling away in the corporate world as a budget manager, he wanted to delve back into the food business and dreamed up MoMo last summer.
"I came here and I said, let me do what I did over there," he said. "I hope to try my best. Everything's special — the preparation and quality of the food — 100 percent Italian."
