The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 22

22 THE GAZETTE', TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1959 Piazza Tomasso-A Family's Hope Fulfilled 4 g'ow of light ar.d life to the resUurant. Momer.ta later, tha first customer relied In off Decarie Blvd. Giovannina dropped a frankfurter on tha grill, the initial pot of coffee was set to perk and Plana Tomasso was la business. TV abbreviated opening night brought only $10 into th till but the following Sunday was a big day. Lauremian-bound auto traffic was thick on Decarie aiipmented by a steady stream of cyclists, and after a weary day behind the counter, the family happily totalled In cash transactions.

(See Next Page) Restaurant Mother's Dream Son Made It Progress Ky HEN RIVERS PIAZZA TOMASSO, Montreal's most famous Italian restaurant, marks Its 25t anniversary tomorrow. Subtract that number of years from 1959 and yot are pluneed into the depression of the 1930's when it was a common sigh 10 see restaurants close for lack of business. That Piazza Tommaso was born ir those uncertain days and developed over the next quarter of a century int the position of prominence it occupies among; Canadian restaurants today, is tribute both to the faith of a determined woman and a young- musicians dec th smalS restaurant from opening on the night. The building built small and quaint along Italian lines with arches and a tower had been completed in a desperate rush. A large, freshly-lettered sign outside called attention to the specialty of the house Chile con Carne, And all that remained was for the i-lectricity to be connected.

On the day of the opening, he Tomassos, weary from the jhysical effort of finishing and the little restaurant, gathered inside with a friend of Tommy's. Jack Kind, and two Tomasso nieces, Barbara and Baby Margaret, to wait for the electricity to be turned on and to greet the first customer. It began to get dark and still they waited in the lloom while many potential ustomers rolled by in the rowing night traffic. Opening Night Incident "When are they going to turn lights on?" Tommy asked. "When they are ready," said lis mother, struggling to control her impatience to get her dream restaurant into operation.

Finally, a few minutes before 11 o'clock, while the Tom-assos held their breath, the hulbs flickered, and brought a ST irvn tn nut. flwav his trumnet. frith Every Best IFish SUPPLIERS OF WHOLESALE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES John F. Cuggy Co. 181 ST.

PAUL'S ST. EAST UN. 6-6926 Ittabttohttf 101 A The trumpet is still in its case in the office of Tommy Tomasso a nostalgic reminder of jazz days when he played with top bands and a reminder also of a sunny afternoon in 1942 when he made a decision that changed the course of his life and the eating habits of hundreds of thousands now Italian food-conscious Montrealers. Before that fateful day in 1942, Tommy Tomasso had been dedicated to music, having been a professional trumpet player since his teens. In Tomasso's early years, his father Michele played the tuba in an Ottawa band.

Michele could hardly wait to play music in concert with his son and when the boy turned nine, his father presented him with a chubby, silver cornet. 1 3 i. SV musician in a career tha' took him to clubs in New York, theatres in London, and eventually back home to Canada and radio work in Montreal. Meanwhile, his parent. Michele and Giovannina ha been operating a small frui store at the corner of Kent aiu Albert streets In Ottawa.

Will the care which she gave to th selection of fruits and vege tables for sale in their store Momma Tomasso kept th-home kitchen redolent with th spiced aroma of fine Italia; food. Mother Loved Cooking Cooking was a labor of lo for Giovannina and the sight Fish and Seafood Supplied by INC. When he had mastered the basics of the instrument, Tommy was sent to study at the Ottawa Conservatory of Music. At the age of 15, he got a job playing at the Hollywood Gardens in the capital city for 50 cents a night. Playing engagements succeeded each other swiftly, from small bands to larger bands until finally, Tommy became a full-time 628 Dorchester St.

W. UN. 6-9351 er husband and boy enjoying er varied and tasty dishes Giovannina and Tommy Tomasso Congratulations to Piazza Tomasso on their 25th Anniversary Congratulations to Piazza Tomasso on their 25th Anniversary pit band for vaudeville shows at Loew's Theatre in Montreal, the Tomassos made their move. In 1934 land was comparatively cheap on narrow Decarie Boulevard whose deserted fields were selling around SO cents a square foot. The Tomassos' savings a few hundred dollars were invested into a corner flat land grown tall with grass and weeds.

From this rose the original Tomasso drive-in restaurant which the Tomassos proceeded to build themselves. For opening day Giovannina prepared a menu that included only a hint of the sort of Italian dishes that have since made the restaurant famous. She made Chile con Carne the specialty of the house, offering also the staple drive-in foods hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream. After so many years of anticipation and preparation, a gave birth to a dream of owning a busy restaurant with clean tables heaped with fine food and surrounded by hungry people. While Tommy and his father played duets in the woodshed, Giovannina spent long summer evenings in the living room over the fruit store thinking about her "restaurant" and planning its dishes.

She talked of her hope to her husband and Michele who loved to grow things fruits and vegetables that a restaurant would need joined in her dream. The Tomassos began to save what they could from the profits of the fruit store, and in the early 1920's decided to make a move. Decided To Sell Fruit Store They sold their Ottawa store and settled in Ville St. Laurent, then a small and quiet suburb of Montreal, where they opened another fruit store and continued to work and save. fTI wfThl ill ilr minor mishap almost prevented The family finances were by 1 LIMIT EE A Peach of a Partnership McLean's Food Products and Piazza Tomasso this time being supplemented by contributions from Tommy, now a professional musician.

At 19, he had become a permanent member of the brass section of Andy i a 1 i Melody Kings, Canada's top dance band of the day and featured RCA Victor recording, artists. Caught in the gay tempo of the Jazz Age, Tommy's thoughts were on music. He lived in New York and played with Paul Whiteman's Collegians and Willard Robison's Deep River orchestra. Later he went to England with Cliff Menzies and his McGill Collegians, but he soon longed for Canada and returned to play with a dance band at Britannia Beach near Ottawa. A couple of fellow band performers were students from St.

Lawrence University in Canton, New QUALITY DAIRY PRODUCTS MILK CREAM ICE CREAM 4141 St. Andre Street LAfontaine 3-3121 Growing together over the yeors! McLean's solutes one of Montreal's top restaurants Where the Stars Dine and enjoy a cuisine enhanced by McLean's chocolate sundae and pie fillings. For many years, this famous restaurant has been supplied i by McLean's another top name in the food field. Congratulations TO MONTREAL'S FAMOUS ITALIAN RESTAURANT PIAZZA York, and they interested him in a course of study combined with music. That fall, he enrolled in the pre-medical faculty at St.

Lawrence where he was initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and got a job playing with a band called the Blue Stompers. This earned him eight dollars a week, six of which went for room and board. Compared with what he had earned playing with bigger bands, Tommy's income was small. After one year at St. Lawrence, he returned to St.

Laurent to spend the summer. He found his parents, as almost everyone else, going through hard times, and he helped in the family fruit store. And when fall came, Tommy had decided to stay home where his parents needed him. But the hard times had done nothing to discourage Momma Tomasso's dream of her own restaurant. While other restaurants were closing in 1934.

she decided the time was ripe to make her dream a reality. Time Hod Com To Start There was a small amount in the bank money scraped over many years from the fruit store's income and with Tommy earning a' little playing trumpet in Eddie Sanborn And because You Asked for it You can now whip up a fruit pie as good as those you marvel about while dining at the Piazza. Those famous Tomasso Pies are filled with McLean's prepared pie on your supermarket shelves in pie-sized "capsule-paks." No other to compare TOMASSO ON THEIR with their four famous flavours cherry, raisin, blueberry and lemon. 25th X. rt turns' Anniversary It's been pleosurt to know you orxi Mrs.

Tomasso over the years Tommy, and I look forward 1 to mony more years of personal KUcILEArJ'S NORM TAVISS Compliments of KEARNEY BROTHERS LTD. FINE TEAS AND COFFEES 147 ST. PITER ST. VI. 2-9909 is- 'Vs.

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