Benjamin Brunson, a surveyor of Saint Paul in 1847, planned Brunson’s Addition in what is now lower Payne Avenue. The neighborhood had pleasing views of Trout Brook, Phalen Creek and downtown, because no railroads had yet cut through the area. The area is approximately 180 acres in size and is bounded by railroad tracks on the north and west, Swede Hollow Park on the east and East 7th Street on the south.
Railroad Island was one of a few early neighborhoods that developed just outside downtown Saint Paul in the 1850’s. Initially it attracted fairly prosperous residents who liked the views of Trout Brook to the west. As a result, many Victorian houses were built in the area in the late nineteenth century on Burr, Brunson, Minnehaha, Desoto, Mt. Ida, and other streets.
But with the arrival of railroads, with their noisy and smoky engines, many people decided to move to newer areas in the western part of the city. In fact, the encirclement of the neighborhood by several railroads is where it got its name.
As the elite left, the community slowly developed into a blue collar area. Historically, the majority of the housing in Railroad Island was single-family and owner-occupied. Many neighborhood residents worked at the nearby brewery, Whirlpool, 3-M, the railroads and other East Side businesses. When an major influx of Italian immigrants started around 1910, a large number of them came to Railroad Island. Many hailed from the Benevento region of Italy, near Naples.
There were a number of important Italian institutions that developed in the community. St. Ambrose Catholic Church was created to serve the Italian community and was headed up by Msgr Louis Pioletti for several decades. On St. Joseph’s Day the men carried statues through the streets. There were special feast days for St. Anthony, and Mary. In addition, there were numerous restaurants and other speciality shops in lower Payne Avenue.
In recent years, closings and employment cut-backs have taken jobs and, with them, economic and social stability from the neighborhood. Owner-occupied housing slowly converted to rental units which generally has resulted in a lower level of maintenance of the neighborhood's housing. However, there are still many homeowners who savor the historic homes in the area. Railroad is now quite diverse in its population but then, hasn’t it always been?
]]>Francesco and Dora Yarusso were the founders of today’s Yarusso Brothers Restaurant at 635 Payne avenue. They arrived in St. Paul in 1904 and headed for Swede Hollow, where they started to raise their fourteen children. They soon moved up the hill and Frank, as he was listed in the 1919 city directory, was a laborer living at 562 Decatur Street. In 1932 he and Dora opened a tavern that sold soft drinks and prohibition-allowed near beer.
The following year the couple opened the "Square Deal Café." They put in the first Bocce alleys in Saint Paul and the Italian sport quickly became a popular event outside the restaurant. Many area residents gathered on Sunday afternoons to smoke cigars and play the traditional game.
Francesco and Dora retired in 1947 and some of their children took over the restaurant, renaming it "Yarusso Brothers." The restaurant was enlarged and remodeled, but the food remained much the same and the original sauce recipe is still used.
Now a third generation of Italian-Americans are in charge. David, Fred, and Michael Yarusso have worked hard to keep their grandfather and father’s traditions alive, and the walls are covered with old photos and artwork that have family and neighborhood images. Yarusso’s continues to be a popular destination for Saint Paul diners. Spaghetti and meatballs are still the signature dish and the menu is stocked with familiar Italian fare like eggplant parmesan and, as they call them, “hot dago” sandwiches.
]]>Morelli’s, located at 535 Tedesco Street on the northwest corner of Payne Avenue, has been in the Italian food business since 1915. James Morelli and his young wife recognized that the growing number of immigrants who lived in the area were eager to find a taste of home, so they began stocking pasta, polenta and olive oil and other items.
Initially the Morelli family lived in Swede Hollow, joining many other Italian families who were filling in behind departing Scandinavians. According to the 1919 city directory the family was living above their store at 564 Bradley Street. By the 1930s the grocery had moved to its present location at 535 Collins Street, now named Tedesco.
Matthew “Matt” Morelli, the next generation to take over the store, was born in Swede Hollow. As a youngster he worked at the grocery and would lug purchases from the family store down the stairs to deliver to the residents of the small settlement along Phalen Creek.
The Italian specialty market was more than just a grocery store. It was a gathering place for the community and a place to go for help. If people had a problem, they could go upstairs to Matt’s office and he would assist newcomers to get jobs. After he had a stroke and had to rely on a wheelchair, he would still come to the store for a few hours a day.
Even now local Italians carry on many of the old traditions, especially when it came to food. On Christmas eve, the Morellis gather for a traditional Italian meal of salted codfish and chestnuts. In the spring they had Easter pizza. “And no matter what my mother would cook for Thanksgiving,” said one relative, “my father or grandfather would always want macaroni of some kind.”
As times changed, Morelli’s Market began to sell fewer groceries and more wine and beer — much of it imported from the old country. But it still has food, because they were grandfathered in after liquor stores could no longer offer groceries in Minnesota. There is still a nice selection of pastas, sauces, fresh olives and an old fashioned meat department that includes a variety of Italian cheeses and sausages.
]]>By the early 1900s, the river flats of Upper Landing gradually passed to the Italian immigrants from the region of Molise in south-central Italy. “Little Italy” was a thriving, almost self-contained community on the Upper Levee, below the High Bridge, from the early 1900s to the 1950s. Serious flooding over many years finally led the city, in the mid-1950s, to begin condemnation and acquisition of houses on the levee. Several well known Italian family businesses (Bonfe’s, Cossetta’s, DeGidio’s, DiSanto’s, and Mancini’s), continue operations on West 7th Street today.
]]>