Walking Directions: Stop in front of the Lodge at 69 Beekman to listen to the introduction then cross Beekman to listen to the audio clip of Ralph Grasso. If you walk a few steps down on the north side of the street you should be facing the open patio area of the red brick building on the other side of Oak Street.
Introduction to Stop 3
The Story
The Italian restaurants on the west side were household names in the 1930s through 1950s. The corner of Beekman and Oak Street formed the hub of the Beekman restaurant district with Fusco’s at 69 Beekman (now the Frederick Allen Lodge); DeGregory’s directly across the street at 70 Beekman and DeRossi’s on the other side of Oak Street and Beekman (68 Beekman) with Colamaria’s around the corner on Ash Street (58 Ash).
Derossi’s Italian Restaurant was a fixture of the Italian restaurant scene on the west side. It opened in 1910 and operated continuously for 70 years finally closing in 1981. It was popular with tourists looking to escape the city heat on the restaurant’s beautiful patio with the grape arbors which was the source of the restaurant’s wine. “It was “Lucky” Luciano’s favorite restaurant. The stories we’ve heard from the Derossi Family are unreal”, says Barrel House owner Charlie Usas who maintained a bar and restaurant for several years in the same spot before closing in 2024.
Listen
In the audio clip below, Ralph Grasso provides an evocative description of what DeRossi’s summer dining patio looked like in the 1940s with the candlelight and grape arbors. The Grasso family lived in the house to the left of the outdoor patio.
Artwork
The oil sketch on the left is taken from an old photo of one of the elder DeRossi relatives sampling the home made wine under the arbor at the restaurant. The sketch on the right illustrates Ralph Grasso’s description of the patio.
