FILIPPO’S

Filippo Rusciano received confectionery, soft drink, and pool table permits at 702 Buchanan Street NE, Minneapolis, in April 1932.  “Confectioneries” were often candy stores that were either waiting out the end of Prohibition, or serving hooch in the basement.  His food permit came in July 1933.  And he got his on and off sale beer permit in April 1934.

This establishment operated as Filippo’s, and was operated by Filippo and Josephine Rusciano.  On February 27, 1950, Josephine was fined $100 and the bar’s license was suspended for ten days for selling whiskey when the bar only had a beer license.  The whiskey was found in two root beer bottles behind the bar.  (Minneapolis Tribune, February 28, 1950)

Filippo died in August 1975 at the age of 89.

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RUSCIANO’S FOOD MARKET

In 1944 Frank and Corona Rusciano opened their own grocery store at 1301 Summer Street NE.  Frank was the son of Filippo.  In 1946, they started making frozen pizzas.

 

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206 South 4th Street

In December 1952, the Ruscianos opened a second grocery store downtown at 206 South 4th Street.  Although it was touted as a second location, it turned out to be a move to the 4th Street location.

 

 

In January 1953, Will Jones reported that the Ruscianos opened a lunchroom behind the grocery store because customers were disappointed they couldn’t “gobble on the premises.”  (Minneapolis Tribune, January 20, 1953).  Business from the nearby courthouse forced them to expand, and soon the sideline to the deli became a full-blown restaurant.  By April 1954 the restaurant was open until 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays.

 

In February 1958, the liquor license of the Covered Wagon was transferred to Rusciano’s, so they could finally serve wine with their Italian meals.  The Covered Wagon had gone out of business to make way for the new Hennepin County Government Center.

 

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328 South 3rd Street

In November 1959, the fate of the Covered Wagon was met by Rusciano’s as well, as its building was one of the sites cleared for the Gateway Redevelopment project.  It was demolished in September 1961.

After months of looking for a new location, Frank and Corona Rusciano bought the former Commerce Club Restaurant and Bar, and the new name was originally going to be Rusciano’s Commerce Club.  The owners of the Commerce Club were Omar and Ann Vance.  (Minneapolis Star, May 13, 1960)

The 3rd Street building dates to 1885, according to the permit card.  (In city records this corner property is listed as 246-50 4th Ave. So.)  It served as everything from a tailor shop, blacksmith shop, brass foundry, and a hotel from at least 1907 to 1926.  In April 1934 there is the first indication of a cafe, and everything that follows appears to be consistent with a restaurant.

The last meal at the 4th Street site was served at midnight, Friday June 10, 1960, and the new site opened on Monday, June 13, 1960.  A February 1961 blurb in Select magazine describes the restaurant:

A new location for an old favorite where Italian food and wine is served.  New decorations are planned but even now wine bottles hang from walls, candles twinkle and oregano scents the air.  American food too.  Wide variety of Chianti wines.

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Matchbooks below from the Collection of Mark Youngblood

                                  

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Robert T. Smith at the Tribune described Frank as a world-class insult artist, and he often recorded their exchanges in his column in the Tribune.

 

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An interesting item appears in September 1974, when a group of “welfare mothers” who felt spied on by their case workers decided to retaliate by doing the same and do some surveillance themselves.  They charged that many workers “drank their lunch” and returned to work “in various stages of intoxication.”  Rusciano’s was one of the five bars listed, no doubt because of its proximity to the government center.  (Minneapolis Tribune, September 28, 1974)

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MUSIC AT RUSCIANO’S

Food was always the emphasis at Rusciano’s, and the newspapers often printed recipes from the restaurant.  A February 1961 blurb in Select magazine indicates that there was entertainment, but doesn’t elaborate.

There were few ads, although in the mid-sixties, ads for their smorgasbord started to crop up.  A New Year’s Eve party in 1964 mentioned a live combo, but not the name of the group.  Same in 1965:  music by a “well known combo.”

Robert T. Smith reported that in 1972, Frank and Corona turned the restaurant over to their son, Phil, who tried promotions such as lingerie shows and dance band, “but it didn’t work out well enough.”  (Minneapolis Tribune, April 21, 1978)  Scotty McFarlane was listed as the performer from November 1977 to January 1978.

 

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THE END OF RUSCIANO’S

The restaurant’s last day was April 29, 1978.

Frank died February 2, 1981.

Corona died on December 18, 1985, at the age of 70.