Angelo’s on Federal Hill Turns 100 - There Will Be Grape-Stomping, Cigar-Rolling & Pasta-Making
GoLocalProv News Team
Angelo’s on Federal Hill Turns 100 - There Will Be Grape-Stomping, Cigar-Rolling & Pasta-Making
The Italian restaurant on Atwells Avenue and its owner, Jamie Antignano, have now shared the plans for three days of festivities starting on April 5.
That Friday, the official birthday kickoff begins at noon, followed by live Italian music and cigar rolling.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThen, on Saturday, there is more music - and grape stomping during the afternoon.
Finally, on Sunday, the restaurant will host a pasta-making station starting at noon.
And birthday cake will be served all three days.
In 1924, Angelo's Civita Farnese Restaurant opened its doors on Atwells Avenue. Farnese is a tiny town located 60 miles northwest of Rome in central Italy, and the name reflected the style of Italian cooking the new settlers to Federal Hill could expect inside, writes the restaurant.
Angelo’s was the "workingman's restaurant, a restaurant without frills serving simple, delicious food made from village recipes. Each dish was hearty and substantial, never expensive, and the restaurant possessed an ambiance that was and still is, unique."
As GoLocal reported in 2021, Antignano says she “didn’t always know she’d take over her family’s business.”
When the founder, Angelo Mastrodicasa, retired in 1954, his daughters took over and, in 1965, moved the restaurant for its third and final time to its current location at 141 Atwells Avenue. In 1988, the family business was handed over to nephew Bob Antignano, his wife Lee, and their two daughters, Cindy and Jamie.
“We used to live on top of the restaurant,” said Antignano of growing up on the Hill. “My earliest memories were living here — making pancakes for the staff and bringing them downstairs. My godparents lived below us. I know it was probably tough for my dad, never leaving.”
And when Antigagno finally took the reins — she was immediately hit with the toughest challenge restaurants faced in modern times.
“The first couple of years were definitely a challenge. And then COVID hit,” said Antignano, noting that she and her father were often working 100 hours a week — just the two of them — to keep the restaurant open.”
But Antignano kept looking forward — the 100-year anniversary was already in the works back in 2021.
“People want to see the state succeed, and I want to see the city succeed,” said Antignano at the time. “And we need people to put the effort in. Because either you leave and never come back — or you never leave.”
