Larry Lagattuta, the man behind Enrico Biscotti Company in the Strip District, has died at 64.
Strip District Neighbors made the announcement Monday on Facebook.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were nearly 300 comments and over 600 shares.
Lagatutta's Italian bakery on Penn Avenue grew to produce more than 90,000 pounds of biscotti a year, plus baked goods, cakes and breads.
The post on Facebook says that Lagattuta began baking as a child and helped the owner of La Prima Espresso when he lost his baking supplier to a fire.
Everyone liked his almond biscotti so much, he soon opened up his own shop, quitting his full-time job to focus on baking.
WQED's Rick Sebak reacted to Lagatutta's passing.
I met Larry in the mid-1990s when we were making THE STRIP SHOW for our WQED Pittsburgh History Series. He was one of those people whose smile was always welcoming and encouraging, and his upbeat attitude and storytelling skills made him always a joy to encounter. And his counter was always full of excellent pastries and baked goods you don't find in ordinary bakeries. But he also ran one of my favorite "slightly hidden" restaurants down the alley next to his Enrico Biscotti shop. For years it was one of my favorite places to meet people for risotto or pasta carbonara for breakfast. I have only good memories of the man and his many delicious reasons for visiting the Strip.
"Larry's contributions to the Strip District, Pittsburgh and the baking community will be missed greatly, but his impact will live on in the form of his delicious crescent-moon shaped cookies loved around the world," the Facebook post said, in part.
A tribute on Twitter calls Lagattuta, "A gem of a man who built a great business from the ground up."
