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Melillo's Tavern approaches 100 years in business
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
LOWELLVILLE
Though its plaster walls were covered in dated wooden paneling and its original tin ceilings were camouflaged by layers of flaking paint, Tiffany DelSignore couldn’t help but see potential in the East Liberty Street building that had long housed Melillo’s Tavern.
She loved the stories of a president maybe staying in one of the 11 upstairs hotel rooms while on the campaign trail, and of workers taking the train from nearby Pennsylvania — which was then a dry state, even before the 18th Amendment outlawed alcohol across the U.S. — to cash their paychecks at the tavern, drinking perhaps too much of them away. And she even sought out the stories about the building’s rumored paranormal activity, about patrons who refused to leave.
So, when the opportunity arose, she bought it. The decision was simple.
“A lot of people don’t want to see this place go away,” DelSignore said. “There are too many memories, too much history.”
In the past four years, she and her husband, Ralph DelSignore, have begun the lengthy process of restoring the tavern to its original appearance, updating when necessary. They’ve already quadrupled the size of the kitchen, lowered the standing bar to a more average height (and removed the spittoon floor trough that ran its length), and stripped the walls and ceilings of their unbecoming coverings.
But the couple’s remaining plans for Melillo’s Tavern are extensive, too. They’re in the midst of renovating the upstairs hotel rooms, along with two main-floor dining rooms that house original fixtures, such as a fireplace and a massive safe that dates back to the tavern’s opening in 1914.
DelSignore joked that she would’ve liked renovations to be completed years ago, but that a lack of time and money have prevented the couple from working on more than one project at a time. But restoring the neighborhood bar is something Tiffany and Ralph DelSignore hope will help revitalize the village, too.
“We want to try to bring Lowellville back for everybody, not just for us,” she said.
Mayor James Iudiciani Sr. said he’s thrilled to have business owners such as the DelSignores investing in Lowellville, and particularly in an establishment that’s been around for almost as long as the village has been incorporated. He’d like to see it become a destination of sorts, or a reason why people might visit Lowellville. And with the tavern already offering an array of homemade food, along with open mic nights on Mondays and karaoke on Fridays, it’s well on its way.
“It’s a great place to eat and drink,” he said. “They’re keeping that heritage and history of Melillo’s Tavern alive.”
For much of the tavern’s 100-year history, Melillo’s Tavern remained in the family. DelSignore, who worked as bar manager from 2004 until becoming its owner, said many family members were reluctant to part with the establishment, which for a century had retained elements such as its flowery murals and wooden back bar imported piece by piece from Italy.
It was only when Michael Zarlengo, who had owned Melillo’s Tavern since 2002, became ill that he passed ownership to its current proprietors. Zarlengo, whom DelSignore described as being “like a brother” to her, died in August.
DelSignore said she is intent on preserving the history of both the tavern and its founding family. In fact, her prized possessions include bar tabs from almost a century ago, along with an old photograph that depicts the original owner’s sons tending bar on a long-ago evening, or one labeled “Caneva Hotel” that shows the building looking much the same as it does today.
DelSignore added that she hopes Melillo’s Tavern will continue to stay in her family, noting that she doesn’t intend to change its name.
Many have asked, she said, but “the name’s like a part of the woodwork here.”