Cucina di Rosa’s cannolis made ‘the old-fashioned way’ may still be sold after the restaurant’s closure

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Inside Cucina di Rosa, you can find Rose Mary Leggio hand-rolling cannolis the same way they were made in her hometown of Sambuca di Sicilia almost a century ago.

It’s a recipe her grandmother got from a baker in the Sicilian village, and Leggio commits to making the shells one-by-one rather than using stainless steel rollers or other devices.

“I still do it the old-fashioned way,” Leggio said. “There’s no shortcuts here.”

Related: Cucina di Rosa in Rockford announces plans to close at year’s end

Leggio, who has run the Italian restaurant on the city’s east end with her daughter, Leandra Sandahl, for six years, has a scrupulous commitment to cannoli quality. She won’t fill the shells until they’re made to order so they keep their light and crispy texture until the last bite. And she won’t serve them to customers if they don’t come out of the deep fryer with the look to match the taste.

“I could make 1,000, maybe 300 will make the cut,” she said, adding the extras are snacked on in-house. “I’m very, very picky with my cannolis. If they’re not bubbly and they don’t have the look, they don’t go.”

Right now is the busy season for Leggio and Sandahl, who customers call “mini-Rose.” They are making cannolis, cookies, gelato and other treats almost nonstop. But this will be the last time they push through the holiday rush at Cucina di Rosa, 1620 N. Bell School Road. The restaurant announced Monday that it would end its run after its annual New Year’s Eve party this year.

Both Leggio and Sandahl have been dealing with health issues, and there was a family vote to cease operations.

“We love what we do, it’s just our health is not going to allow us to keep doing what we’re doing and the hours we’re putting in,” Leggio said. “This is my home. It’s hard because my family and I actually built this many years ago.”

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It’s a fitting time to end because she expects to see many of her customers one last time as they fulfill their holiday cookie and cannoli orders.

“It’s kind of nice because they’ll be stocking up and we get to see everybody,” she said.

After the new year, Leggio will turn her focus to other businesses she runs, including a travel operation that organizes trips to Italy and Sicily, where she still has family. She also has Rosa’s Slots, a gaming parlor at the corner of Logan Avenue and Belvidere Road in Belvidere run by her son, Eric Sandahl. And, she’s preparing to open a second Rosa’ Slots location at 5919 N. Second St., which is near the intersection with Riverside Boulevard in Loves Park.

But she doesn’t want to give up on the sweet treats that got her started in the business years ago with Cannoli Cafe, a predecessor to Cucina di Rosa, which offers Italian cuisine from breakfast to dinner.

“I am hoping to keep doing desserts and maybe some pastries,” Leggio “This is how this business all started and I love what I do. I may not be able to do it in this grand scale, but I would like to be able to at least do my pastries. ”

Leggio is working her way through the busy season before working out details of how she may keep the desserts portion of her business churning, although it won’t be from the shop on Bell School Road. She said she’ll keep Cucina customers updated on Facebook.

“Stay tuned,” she said. “With me you never know.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.