David Salvato
By Jason Vest
Photograph by Peter Newcomb
David Salvato's unbending I'll-sleep-when-I'm-dead work ethic has made him a fixture in the Delmar Loop. He'll happily tell you how he built the interior of his imported chocolates shop, Cioccolato, himself, working nights and weekends while continuing to oversee the grueling daily operation of Salvato's Cafe, one block east on Delmar. He opened Cioccolato in August 2004 and sold the cafe, now Fabio's, the following July.
Salvato has immersed himself in his passion for chocolate--not the bland, pedestrian milk chocolate that Americans are weaned on but pure, delicious dark chocolate. His energy is occasionally so overwhelming that you begin to wonder whether, like a child on the day after Halloween, he has consumed too much candy. But, as Salvato is quick to point out, he doesn't sell candy. He
sells chocolate.
What's the difference?
The authenticity and quality of the chocolate. In the United States, we homogenize everything, which isn't good for us. Dark chocolate, also known as refined or fine chocolate, has only a few ingredients--cocoa butter, cocoa mass, varying degrees of sugar and occasionally vanilla--and that's all good chocolate needs. The milk chocolate bars so popular in America have milk powder, far more sugar and, often, several preservatives mixed into them, which fundamentally alters their taste.
People complain that dark chocolate is bitter.
A standard Hershey bar will initially taste much sweeter, that's true, but dark chocolate is more textured, providing slightly different flavors with each bite. Every bite of a Snickers bar will taste the same for the rest of your life. Fine chocolate is not just candy, and it's not junk food. It's a real food, with antioxidants that make it good for the heart.
What's your background?
South County, middle-class blue-collar Italian.
What were you like in college?
I was a long-haired radical. I went to Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau from 1967 to 1971, and I was a war protester. I marched, I was knocked down by the National Guard, and I had guns pointed at me.
There's nothing radical about chocolate, is there?
After graduating college, with a wife and son, I had to succumb to the idea of being a profitable individual. I worked as a dock foreman and managed the St. Louis office of a freight company. But I was always my own person--and when I reached my forties, I decided I didn't need to work for anyone.
So what did you do?
Published a restaurant and entertainment guide, printed telephone directories for local apartment complexes, and founded a small marketing company. By then I was living on a 50-acre farm in Wildwood, and I rode horses, grew my own food, and tried to live off
the land.
I gather that experience changed you?
Before that, I was a schnook. I decided the best thing I could do for myself was live and eat healthily. I grew my own grains and made my own bread, and then I opened a stand at Soulard Farmers' Market, sold everything from quinoa to fava beans, European spelt and heirloom corn that dated back at least 100 years, to the American Indians. I milled so much grain on the spot, they called me the Miller. And that led to opening
the cafe.
Salvato's was immensely popular; why not stick with that?
Because I was working more than 15 hours a day. I knew I needed a backup business. I had become a real foodie as a result of running the deli, and chocolate, for personal reasons, fascinated me.
Why does it have such seductive power?
Great chocolate is like fine wine or a good cigar; it can take the edge off a stressful day. It's a moment of bliss. I see customers walk out eating their chocolate and they turn around and smile, and I wonder what the hell they're thinking. Some come in almost daily for their fix. They might just buy a 75-cent truffle.
Choosing, I guess, is part of the fun?
I have 350 varieties available at all times. I get chocolates from 15 different nations, mostly from Europe, but also from South American countries, and soon from Africa and Asia. Every country on Earth makes its own chocolate, although the cacao bean, which is the basis of all chocolate, can only be grown within 20 degrees of
the equator.
Do you stock any American chocolate?
I do have one American chocolate that ranks with anything from Europe: Vosges. It's owned by a woman from the Midwest--although she did study in Paris.
Are you working shorter days now?
I have three terrific part-time employees who just walked in off the street and said, "I'd love to work here." But I'm opening a chocolate shop in Union Station. I want to open two more. But first, my lifelong dream is to spend a month in Europe. It's sad, but I've never been there, even though I sell chocolate in the European tradition. I want to visit as many chocolatiers as possible and bring back everything I learn. I also want to backpack through Italy, going from village to village. It will be my first vacation in at least seven years, and I want to live as an Italian--in other words, relax.
