Skappo Adds ​“Bottega” To Eatery

Anna Sincavage will sell dresses in the morning and lasagna in the evening — all from 59 Crown St.

That’s the plan now that the family behind Skappo Italian Wine Bar is taking advantage of lower indoor dining demand to convert one corner of their restaurant into a new mini-shop, La Bottega.

“Before, we were all comfortable in our own settings. This is the moment to have creativity and introduce possibilities,” Anna said.

La Bottega is an official and expanded version of the hobbies Anna and Tom Sincavage have loved for years. Anna will sew and teach her first language of Italian, while Tom will draw architectural scenes.

La Bottega is scheduled to open next Tuesday, April 14. Hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m, before Skappo opens. The couple will serve Skappo’s first diners at 4:30 p.m.

The family opened Skappo in 2004 as a tribute to Anna’s parents after they died. Tom and Anna’s adult children help out at the restaurant and run Skappo Merkato, the associated luncheonette around the corner on Orange Street.

Now Anna has found a new reason to celebrate life, per the lessons of her parents.

The move to outdoor dining during the pandemic freed up space inside Skappo. The Sincavages took advantage of the moment to tweak their business plan.

“Businesses are reacting,” Tom said. La Bottega ​“seemed like a logical transformation.”

Anna added that she plans to reach the gates of Heaven after a full life. If Saint Peter asks her whether she had a good time on Earth, she doesn’t want to hem and haw. She has all the time she needs now to give him an enthusiastic yes.

“What am I waiting for? My clock here is running,” Anna said.

This is how hangers of sweaters, scarves and a mannequin named Mary took over the sunniest corner of Skappo’s Crown Street storefront.

Anna sources the clothes from Goodwill and consignment shops, then pulls them apart and reworks them into new items of clothing. The prices range from $25 for silk ties turned headbands, to $150 and above for larger pieces of clothing.

Anna twirled a purple, sequined shawl on its hanger. She has a theory that populations become more depressed — that people lose their joy for life — when styles converge into grays and blacks.

She plans to buck those trends. Her clothes aren’t intended for everyone’s taste. Instead, she wants shoppers to find the exact piece that mirrors their personality, that will always make them smile when they wear it.

Tom takes the same joy in finding the right homes for his artwork.

The quieter spouse, Tom came to life when talking about his drawing process. No matter what idea he starts with, his art always changes when he draws. He realizes that a certain technique for shading bricks looks better, or he needs to incorporate a mistake into the piece. He draws luxury and sports cars by commission, working with the client on special license plates or designs they want to add into the rendering.

Both Tom and Anna have sold their work before, by appointment only. Similarly, Anna has taught Italian classes for 10 years. La Bottega (the name originates in Italian artist studios) is a chance to formalize both.

One of the first questions Anna asks is, ​“What is your legacy?”

The question is about ancestry and how family past informs who people are today.

Anna grew up in Assisi, a town in central Italy. Tom grew up in the New Haven area, the son in a family-owned butcher shop. His grandparents were Sicilian.

The two met when Tom was studying abroad in his last year at Rhode Island School of Design. He had traveled to say goodbye to a friend, who happened to be sitting with Anna and her sister.

Anna and Tom navigated their new relationship from their respective continents. They visited on vacation and had to call through an international operator.

When they decided to settle in the United States, Anna packed up seven trunks of books and clothes. She took a boat, not wanting to see her life change within an 8‑hour plane ride.

She arrived in New Haven with a fuchsia wedding dress sewn by her mother. Tom’s mother told her that would not work for an American wedding — and offered her own wedding dress, sewn by Tom’s grandmother instead. Anna, luckily, felt honored by the swap.

Anna eventually wore her fuchsia wedding gown to her 25th anniversary. The white wedding dress took a third generation to the altar when her daughter modernized it for her own wedding.

While Skappo is a tribute to Anna’s dad, the business owner, La Bottega is a tribute to her mother, the seamstress.

This ability to give new life to the past must be Anna’s legacy.