Darrell Corti, owner of Corti Bros., a combination mainstream and exotic food grocery store that has been in Sacramento since 1947. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
The meat counter at Corti Bros. grocery store in Sacramento, an unpretentious shop that stocks Starkist canned tuna along with harder-to-find Spanish ventresca. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
The delicatessen counter at Corti Bros. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
A customer searches the olive oil aisle. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Longtime customer Rose Mary Fake picks up some cheese at the deli counter. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
A $499 bottle of Aceto Balsamico Gold Label balsamic vinegar. Corti Bros. has introduced many fine foods and wines to the region, beginning with Darrell Cortis first buying trip to Europe in 1967. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Some of the luxury Spanish label Consorcio white tuna at Corti Bros. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Some of the imported stockfish, a Norwegian cod caught off the Lofoten Islands at Corti Bros. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Some of the imported pastas at the store. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Darrell Corti gives Sharon Babbitt meat-preparation tips. Founded in 1947 by Cortis father and uncle, his store has been at its current location since 1970. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Darrell Corti holds a bottle of champagne to the light while helping Cathy Curiel as she shops at his store. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
Darrell Corti helps Randy Cunningham with olive oil information. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
The checkout counters at Corti Bros. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Corti Bros. in Sacramento was a name that conjured up a then-unimaginable bounty of hard-to-find ingredients. (Peter DaSilva / For The Times)
