Token
Object number2013.38.10
MediumWood
Credit LineGift of Lou and Theresa Minutello
DescriptionCircular light brown wooden drink token. Stamped on obverse in dark pink is value and an image of a cocktail glass with bubbles above. Reverse has restaurant information including an image of a shield with two diagonally lines and an "M" on upper center.Dimensions1.5 x 1.5 x 0.125 x 4.75 in. (3.8 x 3.8 x 0.3 x 12.1 cm)InscriptionsStamped on obverse in dark pink: "GOOD FOR / ONE DRINK".
Reverse: "MINUTELLO'S / [image of a shield with two diagonally lines and an "M" on upper center] / 361-9311 / 226 Shady Ave. Shadyside, PA".
Historical NotesDrink chip from Minutello's Restaurant and Lounge. Louis Minutello, Jr., proprietor of Minutello's Restaurant and Lounge, donated this collection related to his family's business. The restaurant began its over fifty decades long history when his father, Louis, Sr., and his uncle, Al Minutello, along with their brother-in-law, Sid Aurilio, bought the Meadow Grill at 420 Larimer Avenue from their friends Josephine and Alex Napolitano in 1957. Renamed Minutello's Meadow Grill, they opened a second location by 1959 in Swissvale, aptly named Meadow Grill No. 2. The original location remained in the East Liberty location until the late 1960s, when the brothers relocated their restaurant (re-named Minutello's) to the former Penn-Shady Ballroom at 226 Shady Avenue in Shadyside, where it remained until 2013. Around the same time the brothers opened a third location in Mount Lebanon on Cochran Road and, in the early 1970s, a fourth location in Ross Township on McKnight Road. Louis, Jr., began at the restaurant as a dishwasher and busboy at the age of 12. After attending Penn State University and graduating with a degree in restaurant management, he returned to work at Minutello's with his father and uncle; eventually he and his wife, Theresa, purchased the restaurant from his mother, Rae, and his aunt, Eve, in 2000. The restaurant was a popular spot among both Italian American and non-Italian Americans, with many families hosting banquets for weddings, first communications, anniversaries, and wakes in the flagship location's 5,000 square foot space. They were beloved for their brick-oven baked pizza, antipasto salads, homemade lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and chicken parmigiana.
Related institution
Minutello's Restaurant and Lounge
Related person
Louis Minutello Jr.
Related person
Louis Minutello Sr.
Related person
Al Minutello
Related person
Sid Aurilio
Related person
Theresa Minutello
On View
Not on view
c. 2000
c. 2000
