Then one day at the supermarket I passed a middle-aged woman in one of the aisles speaking to what appeared to be her very elderly mother in Italian. I was so excited I walked up to them and told them in Italian how good it was to hear the language again. I think I startled them with my exuberance but we chatted for a minute, and probably told each other where our families were from in Italy, because no matter where in the world you meet someone with Italian roots, that's the first thing you talk about.
So began my search for Framingham's Italian-American culture. Most of it is centered in Tripoli, the south side neighborhood astride Waverly Street (Route 135) at the edge of downtown, near the Ashland line. The area began to fill with Italian immigrants in the 1880s during the huge immigration wave that brought so many Italians to the United States over the next twenty or thirty years. A large Italian-American community grew and thrived there, but as the old generation passed on and the newer generations assimilated and moved out, the community shrank and other newcomers took their place.
So what are the remaining institutions of Tripoli's Italian past, where you can step back in time a bit, and experience a taste of Boston's North End or New York City's Little Italy (also both greatly diminished) in Framingham? Not surprisingly, given the emphasis Italians put on what they eat, they're mostly food-centric.
La Cantina at 911 Waverly Street is still going strong after over sixty years as one of Framingham's favorite and most beloved Italian restaurants. They also have a product line of salad dressings and pasta sauces marketed under the Fanny label (named after Fanny Mencoboni, who started the restaurant with her husband Leo) that is sold in supermarkets all over New England. Within the past few years they completed a major renovation and expansion so clearly their offerings of traditional fare like chicken or eggplant parmigiana, fettucine alfredo, and sausage and peppers has a loyal following.
The Waverly Market, at 684 Waverly Street, is a family owned and operated Italian food store that opened in 1929. They are renowned for their homemade porchetta, sausages, meatballs, sauce, and pasta, as well as the many food items they stock that are imported from Italy. They also have takeout sandwiches, soups, and salads as well as cappuccino. The store has been featured on Boston area television shows like Chronicle and The Phantom Gourmet and has been run by three consecutive generations of the Stefanini family.
The Framingham Baking Company at 840 Waverly Street has been producing baked goods for the community since 1917. While you can certainly get the expected items like Italian bread, biscotti, and pizzelle, they offer a veritable global array of items ranging from croissants to challah to Portuguese sweet bread. What many people flock there for are their famous sheet pizzas, which have fueled many a family gathering in town.
The Columbus Club at 11 Fountain Street is a social-fraternal organization that has been a cornerstone of the Framingham Italian-American community since it was founded in 1908. But you don't have to be a member to experience this century-plus marvel. One of the best-kept secrets in town is the fact that they serve lunch to the public Monday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This fact is not even included on their web site, curiously, though they do some print advertising once in a while.
Just walk in the side door to the lower level of the building and you'll find yourself in a lively room full of postal workers, trades people, and assorted townies in the know, chatting away as they dig into hearty plates of pasta with meatballs and sausages, soups, sandwiches, as well as daily specials like chicken parmigiana (Saturday is tripe day), all at very low prices. They also have an all-you-can-eat dinner Tuesday nights from 5 to 7 p.m. - soup, salad, garlic bread, two types of pasta, meatballs, and dessert and coffee, incredibly, for only $7.00.
The genesis for this blog post was a recent discussion on the Framingham Downtown Renaissance Facebook page when someone said downtown Framingham needed some places where you could buy homemade, old family recipe items like sausages and bread. As I pointed out, in Tripoli you still can, and have been able to, for about a century, thanks to Framingham's Italian American community.
Buon appetito!
6 comments:
My Dad, who lived in Framingham all his life, called that area of Framingham Cobernville (I might have massacred the spelling) He mentioned it quite often. We lived on the South Side but on Eames St. We had Jewish, Russian, Italian and Polish neighbors each could speak English but all could revert to native tongues when family was around....
Audrey, don't know if you remember me but my maiden name was Altobelli - I'm now Anita Wilkinson. I believe we are the same age but I graduated from Marian. My dad owned Altobelli's Market near the corner of Winthrop and Waverly. I believe Coburnville was named because of Coburn Street which was near the Union House.
Brett, My paternal grandfather, an Italian immigrant named Genesi Geneseo, owned the big, brown-shingled home that once stood on the corner of Waverly St. and Knox Ave. As the song goes, they tore it down to put up a parking lot, which was apparently very badly needed to accommodate the ever increasing number of cars bringing customers to La Cantina as it expanded over the years.
I remember sitting on the stonewall that surrounded Nonno's lawn when I was a kid to watch the Boston Marathon runners pass by. The last time was probably in the late 1940s. Nonna died in 1946, and Nonno followed in 1948. Within a year or so after the house was sold. Then in 1950, when I was 12, my father died and we didn't travel from Milford where we lived to see our Framingham relatives nearly as often. I don't remember when the house was torn down.
The small building that was the Tripoli Barber Shop and is now a Framingham Police Sub-station also belonged to my grandfather. He housed several boarders there, also Italian immigrants, and several more in rooms at the back of the house. The house on the opposite corner is where Mr. Galvani had a dry goods store and also sold ice cream, soda and candy. He and his family lived upstairs. My brother and I were always coaxing a nickle out of one of the boarders so we could run across the street to get an ice cream cone.
I was born in 1938 just a few blocks away in a little house on Wilson Avenue at the foot of the hill. I have wonderful memories of the Coburnville neighborhood, as we knew it then.
Thanks for prompting me to relive some of those moments.
Wonderful memories, Jerry, thanks for sharing.
It sounds like some of your family experiences parallel mine at the same time - very much a part of the immigrant story for many Americans.
I grew up in Framingham on willis ave last street before Ashland. I had tons of Italian friends many who lived in coburnville(little Tripoli) names like tory rovinelli, john sacchi, jimmy mariani and on and on. I used to work @ werbey industries on waverly st. when I was in junior high, then Marconi's restauraunt later great and beautiful memories of my youth down Bethany rd. down mellen st. memorial school loring arena, dave and the Essex @ battle of the bands cabbage night before Halloween just more than I can mention I salute all my pisano friends be GOD BLESSED!!! marco skinnerino
I lived in Framingham for just one year as
a sixth and seventh grader and lived on Pincushion Road and just loved going Roosevelt
and Framingham Junior High . We moved to town on Patriot’s Day and left on Patriot’s Day the next year . So sad to go . Last year I learned our ancestor Deacon John Doan settled Eastham MA in 1600s. So we were New Englanders way back’
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