Lost Tables: Rosa & Agostino

La Famiglia Manno

Part Three: Rosa & Agostino

Rosa, the oldest of the six Manno children, was born in Palermo on April 4, 1929. She lived across the street from Agostino Gabriele as a child; he was four years older.

I met him when I was around 10. His mom was my mom’s friend, and we would get together during the holidays. He all the time bothered me, pulled my hair, teased me. So I knew he liked me.

World War II changed the lives of the Manno family. Palermo was heavily bombed by the Allied forces. Eleven year old Rosa was an early casualty.

The first bombing was from the French. I got hit. Some steel pieces went into my head and the skin healed over; the doctors couldn’t find them to get them out until later. And we had to move — we went to Terrasini for four years to take cover with my family there.

But Rosa didn't forget about Agostino.

I thought about him when we were in Terrasini. When we came back, I was 16, and he asked me to marry him. We were engaged for six years. It was not like it is now.

He was very romantic and very handsome, and he loved to sing to me. He had a beautiful voice.

Agostino Gabriele

Agostino was a sailor, a chef in the Italian Merchant Marine. He was often away for long periods of time.

I was alone for a year or more at a time. When he came back on leave, we had to readjust to being together.

I was a seamstress. I made dresses, suits, fur coats — sometimes for royalty. My dream had been to continue to make beautiful clothes, but I married Agostino and had a child.

Rosa Manno and Agostino Gabriele were married in Palermo in 1951.

Agostino & Rosa Gabriele, 1951

Rosa Gabriele & daughter Rosalba

Agostino Gabriele was thirty something, financially established and a solid middle-class Sicilian. As a youth, his life had not been easy. He lost his father early on in the war. He grew up standing in breadlines. He was proud that he finally had money in his pocket and owned a home for his family.

But Agostino was still a sailor, away for months or a year or more at a stretch. Rosa often felt alone, particularly after her father immigrated to American with her brother and sister in 1956, and then her mother with two more of her sisters in 1958.

My parents and my siblings were in the U.S. Italia is beautiful, and I had a wonderful life, but I missed everyone so much. They called me and said, "Come to America." So I talked to Agostino and asked him what he thought about moving to St. Louis, and he said no. But to make me happy, and my mother Elena happy, he decided to move. So we sold all of our furniture and our home, and we came to St. Louis by way of ship in December of 1959.

Rosa and Agostino Gabriele sailed to St. Louis from Palermo with daughters Rosalba ("Rosa") and Elena, and baby Giovanni ("John"). Paolo ("Paul") was born three years later.

We lived with my parents initially. I found a job as a seamstress and Agostino found a job at Caesar’s Bakery; the owner sponsored our visit to the United States. After a couple of months, Agostino worked at Tony’s, then Andreino’s on the Hill and lastly at the Chase Park Plaza as executive chef, meeting all the celebrities.

Agostino created a dish for Mrs. Koplar when he worked at the Chase — Linguine Maremonte. Mare for the sea — clams, shrimp, chunks of lobster — and monte for the mountains, the land — mushrooms, linguine, and a sauce with tomato, garlic, white wine, and butter.

While her husband hobnobbed with celebrities, Rosa stitched gorgeous garments.

The factories where I worked — Knickerbocker’s and Nania’s — had electric machines; zzzzzzzzz! In Italia, I had a manual; I had to use my foot. So I was surprised. Also, I could not speak English. I did well, though, because I had a lot of experience and my co-workers treated me well.

I knew the language of a seamstress, and I used hand gestures. If I was looking for deodorant, I would signal under the arms. If I needed nylons, I would point to my lower legs. It was difficult at times and funny at times.

John, Rosa, Paul and Elena Gabriele

As early as 1937, John DiMartino ran a grocery store at 5201 Shaw on the Hill. On March 4, 1948, his grocery store became DiMartino's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge.

DiMartino's Restaurant, 5201 Shaw


DiMartino's Menu (click image to enlarge)

When John DiMartino died in 1965, his restaurant closed. In 1967, Agostino's on the Hill opened in the space.

Agostino’s dream was to open up a restaurant of his own. He talked it over with me and my brother-in-law John Mineo and my sister Anna, and we decided to go into a partnership and open up our own restaurant. The location was at 5201 Shaw, Agostino’s on the Hill. Agostino needed my help, so I quit sewing. He taught me what he learned in the Merchant Marine and as a chef in the restaurants. I worked side by side with my husband; we were both chefs.

John Mineo served as maître d’ while Rosa and Agostino worked in the kitchen.

We made several dishes together — for example, Linguine Maremonte, beef Madeira, veal piccante, veal saltimbocca, and many more. We would experiment nightly, and our customers would ask us, "What is the special tonight?"

He was hot, and I was cool. He complained all the time; he was tough. He’d say something, and I’d say, "No, let it go."

When Concetta and Francesco Sanfilippo came to St. Louis from Palermo in 1967, Francesco worked as a waiter at his brothers-in-law's restaurant, as did a younger Agostino Gabriele, the brother of Giovanni Gabrielle and nephew to the older Agostino.

Agostino's on the Hill Dining Room
1-Francesco Sanfilippo, 2-John Mineo, 3-Agostino Gabriele, 4-Chef Agostino Gabriele

Agostino's on the Hill was a hit with the critics, exemplified by a review in the July 1968 issue of Beverage Journal.

Agostino’s is a relative newcomer on "The Hill," world-renowned for its large concentration of good restaurants in one neighborhood. Some say Agostino’s is one of the "hautest" trattorias in town, and it has been a success from the start because of a combination of great talents.

Both the décor and cuisine of Agostino’s are impressively Italianate. As a modest informational leaflet of the restaurant justly states, "the Italian touch is present not only in the titles but in the recipes. Steak is not just steak, it is Italy itself, because of the way Agostino combines wine sauces seasoned with herbs and spices to give it that definitely Italian accent."

Despite their success on the Hill, in 1973, the two brothers-in-law sold their restaurant to another brother-in-law, Giovanni Gabriele, and went their separate ways, both opening restaurants in West County. Agostino and Rosa's new venture was at 12949 Olive in Creve Coeur.

We named the restaurant Agostino’s Colosseum, and we again worked side by side. We continuously worked to create new dishes. We worked along with our children, Rosa, Elena, John and Paul, at that location for 26 years. While we were there, we received awards from the Mobil Travel Guide, DiRoNA [Distinguished Restaurants of North America] and many others.

The measure of success of a St. Louis restaurant was often how many times it was visited and reviewed by St. Louis Post-Dispatch restaurant critic, Joe Pollack.

Agostino's Colosseum Restaurant features good food and fine service, with a staff that certainly outnumbers the dozen or so tables and moves speedily enough to seem to outnumber the customers.

Agostino's cooking is strong on sauces and quite rich, with a heavy hand adding tomatoes, mushrooms, lemon, wine and a wide variety of seasonings. Portions are large and the richness would dictate a light lunch and lots of exercise before challenging the dinner menu.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct 17, 1973

Like good wine, Agostino's Colosseum restaurant seems to improve with age.

It is a little larger, mainly in terms of waiting room, since I first visited the storefront location nearly three years ago, but dinner on a couple of recent visits was outstanding in every respect.

There is a loving touch to everything that comes from Agostino's kitchen, with the pasta fresh and delightful, sauces rich in taste and aroma, meat tender and everything cooked the way it is described on the menu, then expanded by a hungry imagination.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug 25, 1976


1975 Agostino's Colosseum Menu (click image to enlarge)

It's easy to see why Agostino's Colosseum should provide splendid dinners. After all, Agostino is in the kitchen, with occasional visits to the dining room in his mustard-yellow shirt, and so are his wife, Rosa, the author of the marvelous cannoli, and their son, Paul. Another son, John, is on the floor.

They're obviously doing something right, because they've expanded twice in the lifetime of the shopping center establishment, and there now are two dining rooms in addition to a bar-waiting area.

And over the years, I've greatly enjoyed meals at Agostino's. The menu isn't huge, but it certainly is adequate, and everything is delightfully prepared and courteously, efficiently served in the warm, comfortable room.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dec 27, 1979

Dinner at Agostino's is on the expensive side, but the storefront operation offers an elegant feel, with sparkling crystal on crisp, white tablecloths, and first-class service, too.

Over the years since it abandoned the Hill and moved west, Agostino's has provided me with a series of excellent dinners.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov 4, 1982

Agostino Gabriele, 1981

Agostino's Colosseum was truly a family affair. Son Paul assisted his mother and father with the cooking, son John was the floor manager and daughters Rosa and Elena shared secretarial and bookkeeping duties.

Chef Paul, Rosa (holding daughter Alexis), John, Chef Rosa and Chef Agostino, 1983

In 1988, Rosa and Agostino opened a second West County restaurant — GP Agostino's at 15846 Manchester in Ellisville.

We were taking a ride on Manchester Road, and Agostino and I saw this run-down building on the corner of Clarkson and Manchester. We fell in love with the vision of how beautiful this building could be as a restaurant, so we decided to purchase it and make it our beautiful restaurant. We redecorated from top to bottom and inside out. We had four children and the two of us, so he made six columns in front, one for each. The restaurant was three stories, 12,000 square feet, and we had crystal chandeliers from Venice. At wedding receptions, the bride would step out on the balcony for photographs.

GP Agostino's, 15846 Manchester

The initials before Agostino's name stood for his two sons — Giovanni (John) and Paolo (Paul). The restaurant's main dining room was decorated in peach, beige and rose, with white tablecloths and fresh flowers on each table. There were beveled mirrors and crystal chandeliers.

The Sicilian way is warm, inviting, romantic. Agostino used to greet the women with a kiss on the hand and sing to them. They would come in the kitchen and kiss him. I let them, because I knew they were happy at our restaurant and it is the Italian way to greet and say goodbye with a kiss.

The family split their time between Olive and Manchester. Paul was executive chef for the new restaurant while Rosa continued as chef at the Colosseum. Agostino cooked lunch at GP Agostino's and worked the floor in the evenings. John was maitre d' for lunch on Manchester and for dinner on Olive.

While both restaurants offered Northern Italian cuisine, GP Agostino's specialized in lighter fare and lighter sauces.

The Gabrieles closed Agostino's Colosseum in 1996.


GP Agostino's Dining Room	1989 Dinner Menu (click image to enlarge)

In 1995, Agostino Gabriele was was given the title of Cavaliere by the Italian government.

Agostino was given that title because of how he represented the Italian culture and because of his hard work in the United States. I was so proud of my husband!

Agostino Gabriele's rich-operatic voice, sad-dark eyes and pencil-thin mustache graced St. Louis restaurants for 40 years. The story of his life was illustrated by endless scraps of paper produced from his wallet, testimonial letters written by happy customers, celebrity photographs on the walls of his restaurants, and magazine clippings from the near and distant past. Agostino Gabriele died on June 24, 1999 at the age of 73.

Agostino & Rosa Gabriele

The Gabriele family continued to run GP Agostino's until May 1, 2008; the building was sold to make way for a CVS pharmacy. But Rosa and her family were not without a restaurant for long. In December of 2008, they opened Agostino's Restaurant & Bar at 280 Long Road in Chesterfield Valley.

Paul was the executive chef and his wife, Cettina, would work as a hostess. John was the dining room director and his wife, Francesca, was the pastry chef. Rosa and Elena and their husbands did various jobs, as well as bookkeeping. Agostino, my grandson, worked in the dining room and also became our computer expert. All of my grandchildren were available to bus tables or help in the kitchen when needed.

Agostino's Restaurant & Bar, 280 Long Road

The Chesterfield Valley restaurant was short lived. It closed towards the end of 2010. But on November 28, 2011, another Agostino's opened at 130 Ludwig Drive in Fairview Heights.

Agostino's Restaurant & Bar, Fairview Heights

The new restaurant's large dining room had white cloths on the tables and murals of Italy on the wall. The entire Gabriele family worked together, as always, with John in the dining room, Paul as executive chef and Rosa in the kitchen, baking bread and sfincione.

Agostino's Fairview Heights Dining Room


John Gabriele	Paul Gabriele


Rosa Gabriele	2014 Agostino's Lunch Menu (click image to enlarge)

Agostino's in Fairview Heights closed on February 20, 2023. For the first time since 1967, Rosa Gabriele and her family were without a restaurant and had no plans to open another.

Rosa Gabriele, May 15, 2022

La Famiglia Manno

Part Four: Anna & John