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.
]]>Willard's is believed to be the second-oldest bar in Saint Paul. A West End watering hole, The Spot, is the only place that is older. Willard's opened in 1908 as Kohl’s, which is what it was known as until 1970. Neighborhood lore has it that the bar had a soda fountain counter out front and a speakeasy in the back during the Prohibition era. (The bar's website notes that "We are pretty sure the statute of limitations has run out on that by now!"
After 1970 the business went through ownership and name changes. In 1982 it was purchased by Tom Kaufman. He was known throughout Frogtown for taking in stray animals and changed the name from Quinn's to Willard's to honor a little dog he'd rescued. Willard the dog became the bar mascot.
The bar is described by some as the "front porch of Frogtown." Frogtown had many other small bars and bar/restaurants scattered throughout the community. Many people might remember the now-closed Family Inn, 561 Edmund Ave. Among the many other long-gone Frogtown establishments are the Albrecht Tavern, 449 Thomas Ave., the Char-Dale, 535 N. Dale St; the Frontier Tavern, 558 Edmund Ave..; Bob's Frogtown Tavern, 436 Lafond Ave.; the Red Feather Nite Club, 665 University Ave.and the Stahl House, 586 Rice St.
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Kim Long was the name of one of the city’s first Vietnamese restaurants and one of the first businesses to shape what became Little Mekong. It was named after its owner, who had come to Saint Paul from Vietnam in 1975. He opened his namesake restaurant in 1976.
Long was a fourth-generation restaurateur and a fighter pilot in the Vietnamese Air Force.
Long was well-known for his efforts to bring more immigrant businesses to University Avenue. He would tell people that they could help make the neighborhood better by opening shops and restaurants along University Avenue. He worked with a large group of neighborhood residents to try to rid the area of open-air drug dealing, street prostitution and other crime.
Long also led efforts to build the International Marketplace at 478 University Ave. and to obtain $1 million to fund that project and to make streetscape improvements on the east end of University Avenue. He and others worked with city officials to convert a former Harmon Glass center into a mini-mall of ethnic businesses. That effort began in 1989 and lasted into the early 1990s. One unrealized part of the plan called for flags of all nations to be placed along University Avenue.
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