For three years, owner Simone Laboa and his crew at Solo Pane e Pasticceria in downtown Bath have been making a delicious mess. With this summer’s expansion of Solo Pane’s dining space and menu, that mess will get even bigger — and better.
Laboa, a 27-year-old native of Genova, Italy, explains that the root of “pastry” in his native tongue — pasticcio —is “reconstructed mess.” By combining scientific precision and creative aplomb, chefs use ordinary ingredients to create extraordinary tastes.
Follow your nose to Solo Pane on Centre Street and find freshly baked loaves of stirato, a variation on the French baguette made with sourdough cultivated on-site; torta della nonna (grandmother’s cake), a traditional treat with ingredients sourced from farms in Italy and Maine; and a dizzying array of cornetti, Italian croissants made with an egg-richened dough and flavored with the zest of oranges and lemons.
And that’s just the beginning. Signore, you call this bounty a “mess”? Laboa laughs and explains that he and his culinary forebears strive for perfection by beginning with imperfection.
“For example, making a pie crust. The sides flop in, they break and you can’t use it for that specific product,” he says. “From that, maybe you reconstruct it into a base for an Italian cheesecake. If it’s a mistake, you can reuse it. Maybe you even make something better.”
Making something better is Laboa’s goal with this summer’s expansion. The small bakery and coffee bar recently more than doubled its inside seating space, and Laboa plans to expand the menu from breakfast and lunch offerings by adding an evening menu featuring small plates, house-made pasta and sauces, Genovese street food and aperitivo cocktails.
As a growing stream of locals and tourists discover Solo Pane, the operation has grown from a handful of employees to 20 baking around the clock. Laboa looks forward to introducing customers to an even wider variety of tastes, including pizzas baked in an oven made of stone from Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano.
“Bath is really amazing. It’s a small town but everybody has a really strong sense of community,” he says. “I can feel the energy of people who care about you and your business as human beings — soul to soul.”
A passion for food comes naturally to Laboa. His father, Paolo, learned from culinary masters in his native Italy before moving to the United States to open restaurants in San Francisco and, more recently, New England. His pesto recipe won the 2008 World Pesto Championship and remains a favorite at his Solo Italiano restaurant in Portland.
His son divided his youth between Italy and the United States before moving to Maine for good three years ago. Simone had worked with and learned from his father, but wanted to create something of his own. When a space just down Centre Street from Bath City Hall opened in July 2022, he and his family seized the opportunity.
At first, Solo Pane operated as a pop-up, serving sidewalk food prepared in his father’s Portland restaurant and transported north. Then Laboa opened the bakery inside a space with big windows, warm brick walls and tables arrayed on a parklet by the street.
Strictly translated, the eatery’s name means “only bread and pastries” —but it is growing into much more. While Solo Pane has ambitious plans for expansion, Laboa and his team never lose sight of the traditions on which they build.
Take, for example, Solo Pane’s approach to cannoli. Visitors to cannoli shops in Boston’s Italian North End neighborhood are accustomed to seeing cases stacked with cylinders of crispy dough pre-filled with a sweetened ricotta cheese blend.
Not at Solo Pane; there, each cannoli is filled to order — so there’s no risk of the filling turning the crispy shell soggy. Discerning eaters also will notice the bright edge of ricotta made with Italian sheep’s milk rather than cow’s.
Asked about the contrast between his approach and that of the popular Boston shops, Laboa is diplomatic. “They have their style,” he says. “I don’t necessarily agree with their style.”
Laboa learned the art of cannoli-making from his father, who, in turn, had learned from earlier masters. “My father was taught by a Sicilian who had learned it from his grandfather,” Laboa says. “We’re carrying this recipe through the generations.”
While Simone’s brainchild, Solo Pane is very much a family affair. In addition to the inspiration provided by his father, his stepmother, Mercedes, and younger sisters, Evelina and Violet, all work in the eatery. His wife, Alice, also a native of Genova, handles social media and other duties.
Helping Laboa in the kitchen one recent morning was Anthony Boudreau, who grew up in Fairfield and said he’s been treated as more than an employee. “When you come here, it’s like you’re family every step of the way.”
As Solo Pane continues to grow, Laboa hopes customers also will feel at home. “Making people feel cozy is very important, especially during the winters,” he says. “People can take the food to go, but I also want them to enjoy having a nice warm coffee, pastry and pizza sitting down, listening to music.”
And partaking in time-tested traditions reconstructed in a new way. “I think it’s very important to be respectful of what all the previous generations developed, because they are the true masters,” he says. “We are combining their knowledge with our knowledge — trying not to mess it up.”
Solo Pane, at 29 Centre St. in Bath, is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week. It can be found online at solo-pane.com.
