Cossetta owner Dave Cossetta dies in Italy: St. Paul loses a local legend

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Friends say Dave Cossetta's death has left St. Paul mourning a local legend tied closely to Cossetta's dining scene.

Dave Cossetta's final trip to Italy

The backstory:

Pat Mancini said winning a pair of awards at the Panettone World Cup in Milan was one of the high points of Cossetta's life, and he was still celebrating that longtime dream while vacationing in Rome with friends and family.

"A lot of people just kind of in shock, you know, there was no goodbyes, there was no, for me, heavy loss, heavy loss," said Mancini.

Legacy beyond the family eatery

Why you should care:

Mancini said Cossetta's passion was feeding people, from helping turn his family's Italian grocery store into a culinary destination in St. Paul to serving meals to thousands of U.S. service members overseas.

Mancini said Cossetta co-founded Serving Our Troops, a nonprofit that made meals for thousands of U.S. service members in places like Kuwait and Iraq.

"He loved doing that and he was good at it," said Mancini.

After Cossetta died, Mancini said friends delivered those panettones to the Vatican because they believed that is what he would have wanted.

"He'll be missed not only in this city, he's very important to the city. He will be missed now worldwide and his panettones will hopefully live on forever I guess," said Mancini.