Getty Joe Amabile. aka 'Grocery Store Joe.'
Bachelor fans primarily know Joe Amabile, aka Grocery Store Joe, from his two seasons on “Bachelor in Paradise.” Amabile had a short-lived stint on season 14 of “The Bachelorette,” but Becca Kufrin sent him home on the first night.
The Chicagoan then showed up on “Bachelor in Paradise” in season five, where he met and fell in love with Kendall Long. After that relationship failed, he returned to BIP in season seven, where he met his fiancé, Serena Pitt. The pair is currently planning their wedding.
In between meetings with florists and photographers, Grocery Store Joe has been busy launching his own line of pasta sauces. Amabile used to own a grocery store, and his family has been in the produce business for generations, which is why Bachelor Nation fans gave him his nickname. Amabile was quite popular among fans despite being sent home so early on “The Bachelorette.” According to Distractify, “after the elimination, fans tweeted and memed, and Grocery Store Joe was born.”
The Sauce Business is Soaring
In a June 7, 2022 interview with ABC7 WLS-TV in Chicago, Amabile shared his excitement about his sauce brand, “Sundays with Joe,” becoming available in its first big chain of grocery stores.
The line of sauces, which is derived from a family recipe, was previously only available in smaller local stores, as Amabile shared on an Instagram Post. It is also available online at SundaysWithJoe.com. According to the website, Amabile “has been in the restaurant/food industry for 10+ years and has a food vlog where he goes around Chicago and highlights the best dishes restaurants have to offer.”
Although customers can still buy the sauce online, Amabile happily told WLS-TV that the brand “just launched into Mariano’s this month. We’re in all 44 locations.” Mariano’s is an Illinois-based grocery store chain that is owned by Kroger, “the nation’s largest supermarket chain with 2,764 stores nationwide,” reports the Chicago Tribune.
Currently, “Sundays with Joe” sauces will only be available at Mariano’s and other local stores in the Chicagoland area. However, as Amabile explained to WLS-TV, he started the business with a friend during COVID in 2020, “and it’s been going ever since, and it’s just getting bigger and bigger.” He plans to continue to expand the brand. Customers can choose between Sweet Marinara and Arrabbiata sauces, as is presented on the “Sundays with Joe” website.
Amabile Talks Wedding Plans
The WLS-TV interview deviated from the sauce news a bit to delve into Amabile’s experiences on “The Bachelorette,” “Bachelor in Paradise” and “Dancing with the Stars.” The reporter asked Amabile, “when you look back at your time on Bachelorette and other television shows since, are you glad that you’ve done the reality TV thing?”
The 36-year-old reality star replied, “Yeah, I mean I’ve had a wonderful experience on it. I’m engaged from the show. And it’s really just opened so many doors for me, and I’ve been able to create this business and other business, so for me, I just feel so lucky to have been cast on it.”
The reporter then asked him to talk more about his fiancé. Amabile said, “Yeah, I fell in love with a lovely woman named Serena Pitt. She’s a Toronto native. We are currently going back and forth right now…and yeah, everything’s great. We’re planning on getting married like around next September.”