Beloved Hoboken Baker Giorgio Castiello Has Passed Away

(ABOVE: via facebook)
UPDATED to include calling hours and Mass information

On the eve of San Giuseppe, the Hoboken community has received the devastating news that Giorgio Castiello, proprietor of Giorgio’s Pasticceria has passed away over the weekend at the age of 83.

Castiello was born in 1935 and moved to Hoboken after leaving his native Naples, Italy. In 1974, he took over the bakery at 1112 Washington Street, and has been a steadfast figure in the Hoboken community ever since.

Photo via Robert Foster, Hoboken Historical Museum

As Hoboken pastry shops became a worldwide phenomenon, Giorgio’s remained a local favorite.

At the height of the Cake Boss boom, daughter Mary Grace Castiello told hMAG in 2011, “They’re a big budget Hollywood picture, this is an independent film.” She added, “We need the big productions, but we like to do things our own way here.”

*** Read “It Takes Fifty Years to Be a Chef: Recollections of Giorgio Castiello, Pastry Chef”—via the Hoboken Historical Museum***

Their way has been working, as Hobokenites in-the-know have been bypassing the lines and stopping by Giorgio’s for all manner of Italian pastries—including cookies, biscotti, and of course, their cannoli. As for tourists, “We just tell them we’re ‘Old School’…they seem to like that,” said Mary Grace.

Giorgio was predeceased by his wife, Anne Marie, who passed away in 2012. He was a tremendously kind and gentle man, who looked after his customers with genuine affection and gratitude. Our community has lost a great, great man.

Calling hours will be Thursday from 3-8 p.m. at Failla Memorial Home (533 Willow Avenue, Hoboken), with the funeral Mass on Friday at St. Ann’s (704 Jefferson Street, Hoboken) at 10:00 a.m.

La Festa de San Giuseppe in Hoboken means one thing—zeppole from Giorgio’s