U City Pizza Pizza first appeared on a St. Louis menu in 1946 at Melrose Pizzeria in the Central West End. At that time, University City was the home of more than 35 percent of the St. Louis Jewish population and, not surprisingly, there was a plethora of Jewish bakeries and delicatessens throughout the community. But as pizzerias began popping up, pizza became a staple for U City residents – alongside bagels and pastrami. In 1956, Julius Seitz began serving pizza at Olive and Midland in University City at Jule’s Pizza Palace. By 1959, his brother Frank had taken over and the name was changed to Frank's Pizzeria. And about a year later, Frank's sister Helen became a partner and the sign at 7303 Olive Street Road was changed to Frank & Helen's Pizzeria.
Of course, Frank & Helen's is not a Lost Table.
The restaurant moved to 8111 Olive in 1967 and still serves pizza at
that location to current and former U City residents.
Via’s Steak House had pizza on its menu at 8516 Olive in University City (two doors up from Nino's) from 1958 to 1965. However, while Vito Via and his sons, John and Rudy, would go on to write a Lost Tables story of their own, most of it was written in Olivette. Via's II opened at 9641 Olive in 1962 and would thrive at that location for 30 years.
Shawn and Alice Jacobs served pizza and beer at
6510 Delmar in the U City Loop from 1977 until 1996, and then up the
street at 6691 Delmar until 2017. But those who mourn the loss of
Cicero's do so as much for the lost entertainment as for the pizza.
U City residents have enjoyed pizza at other venues of significance over the years. They crossed the street into St. Louis City for pizza a Talayna's at 276 North Skinker and ordered countless pizzas from Imo's at 8437 Olive. But there are two iconic U City pizzerias that will never be forgotten. As a former U City resident opined on social media:
Rinaldi's Alfred J. Rinaldi was born in St. Louis on July 11, 1912. He grew up in the Tower Grove South area with his parents and two brothers. In 1935 he married Aureba Franklin, and by 1939 the Rinaldis were living at 4234 Humphrey, still in the Tower Grove South area. Rinaldi worked for the Federal Engineering and Construction Company in 1941 and as an agent for The Prudential Insurance Company in 1951. In 1956, he decided to go into the restaurant business. Rinaldi had never worked in a restaurant before opening one of his own.
Rinaldi opened his restaurant at 6644 Delmar,
in the U City Loop, in a building that had previously housed
the Spudnut doughnut shop and today is the home of Craft Alliance.
Rinaldi's restaurant was a success. Bob Goddard noted its popularity in his July 30, 1959 St. Louis Globe-Democrat column.
In 1960, seeking to build on his success,
Rinaldi opened a second restaurant at 700 North Skinker, which he
called Alfredo's. But by September
of 1961, the restaurant bearing his given name was for sale, and by
May of 1962, Belvedere Joe’s had moved into the space.
Ranaldi's pizza was St. Louis style – thin crust, cut into squares. In a January 14, 1990 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Rinaldi remarked, "Our customers said we had one of the best pizzas in town." Decades later, they felt the same way.
Rinaldi's was also know for their Insalata Rinaldi and dressing.
Customers raved
about the ribeye steak sandwich on toasted garlic bread and the
toasted ravioli, all served on tables with Chianti bottle candles
and checkered tablecloths.
As the Jewish population moved westward from
University City, so did Alfred Rinaldi. In 1969, he closed his
restaurant in the U City Loop and reopened in Creve Coeur at 11611
Olive. He would serve pizza at that location until he retired in
1976.
Nino's Anthony Carl Mercurio was born in St. Louis on October 20, 1918. By 1948, he was living at 8316 Richard Avenue in University City – two blocks north of Olive and three blocks east of Woodson – with his wife Marie and his two sons, John and Jack. Mercurio's entree into the restaurant business may have been via his father-in-law, Jasper Sansone, who operated Sansone’s Spaghetti House at 1001 Cole Street from 1910 to 1965.
In any event, in 1956, when Bernhardt’s Paint &
Hardware vacated the space at 8512 Olive Street Road – on the south
side of Olive, just east of McKnight – Mercurio opened a restaurant
within easy walking distance of his home.
In 1958, Mercuiro officially registered his restaurant with the State of Missouri as "Nino’s Pizzeria and Italian Foods." Unofficially, it was simply "Nino's." Nino's had upholstered booths along its side walls and Formica tables in between. A Formica customer counter was at the rear of the restaurant for carry out orders. Carry out customers were instructed to:
When old enough, John and Jack Mercurio helped their father at the restaurant, along with Mercurio's brother-in-law, Sonny Sansone. While the restaurant was a family affair, teenagers were loath to be seen with their families at Nino's on weekends. Nino's used a scissors to cut its thin crust, St. Louis style pizza into squares. There was only one size – medium. According to the menu, Nino's pizza was the finest in all St. Louis. Decades later, former customers agreed.
Nino's Italian
salad was also a favorite. It contained chunks of salami and
cheese, and had a single anchovy on top.
In 1966, after ten years of serving pizza at
8512 Olive, Nino's moved three blocks east to 8220 Olive – still on
the south side of the street, just west of 82nd Street and just east
of Chaney's barbecue. And in 1969, Nino's served its last pizza in
University City.
In 1973, "Nino's Pizzeria" was sold to Tennessee Jed's International, which was owned by an investment group headed by Ben Fixman and Albert Goldstein. The same group had purchased Golden Fried Chicken Loaf from Mina Evans several years earlier.
In November of 1973, Nino's Pizzeria reopened
in Creve Coeur in the Castillon Plaza, at the northwest corner of
Olive and Fee Fee, occupying a former Tennessee Jed's location.
Golden Fried Chicken Loaf had reopened a year earlier in the Olive
Arcade Plaza at the northeast corner of Olive and Fee Fee.
In December of 1973, the new Nino's offered one free cheese pizza with the purchase of any two meat pizzas. In January of 1974, Nino's began offering two sizes of pizza, as opposed to Mercurio's medium size only. By 1980, Five Star Travel Agency occupied the space. * * * * * Anthony Mercurio died on Jan 31, 1995 at the age of 76. Alfred Rinaldi died on August 18, 1976 at the age of 84.
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