Scott Ketchum and Steve Gonzalez were trying to raise money to open a pasta restaurant and market when they realized that few New York-based companies were making dried pasta for the retail market. So they started one.
Sfoglini makes dried pasta that's more or less to order; when a store or restaurant places an order, Ketchum and Gonzalez make whatever's needed then. Skipping out on inventory allows them to both keep costs down and provide the freshest possible products to their customers.
This also allows them to do short runs of seasonal flavors, or try out unexpected ingredients. They have a particular interest in working with "things people are just getting rid of"; among those they've incorporated into pasta are Eagle Street Farm's late-season basil that's going to seed, spent grain from Bronx Brewery, grape skins from Red Hood Winery,* and Brooklyn Grange' otherwise compost-bound tomato leaves. The latter are actually edible, says Gonzalez, despite persistent rumors to the contrary. "We read a lot of Harold McGee articles about it," before experimenting with tomato leaves, he says, "and we ate enough ourselves to prove [the rumors] wrong.