Stocked Market
in South Philly

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

In the wintertime, they light fires in their trashcans and huddle around to stave off the freezing air.
In the summertime, they fan themselves with paper bags, even if for only a moment or two of relief from those hot, soupy afternoons.
Nobody ever said that running a shop in South Philadelphia’s legendary Italian Market was a piece of cake, or a slice of panettone for that matter.
But to those who have chosen the life or who were cast into it by birth, the hardships are an afterthought. Rather, their story is about entrepreneurial spirit and tradition, according to a woman who knows as much about the old open-air food market as anyone.
Tour guide and historian Celeste A. Morello may have begun her association with the Italian Market as an outsider — she moved to the area from her native Norristown as she was finishing her undergraduate study at Chestnut Hill College. But in a way, that allowed her to fit right in.
After all, the history of the market itself is one of immigration, with generation after generation arriving from not just Italy, but nations around the globe, seeking a piece of the American pie.
In her new series of guided tours, Fridays at the Market, Morello will share her thorough knowledge of that history anecdotally, along with her insider’s perspective on the best shops to visit, the best people to see and the best recipes to learn.
Besides being the official historian of the 9th Street Italian Market Merchants Association, Morello is the author of three books on Philly’s Italian community and culture, including a regional bestseller in The Philadelphia Italian Market Cookbook, published in 1999, and last year’s Philadelphia’s Italian Foods: A History of Over 200 Years With Recipes From the City’s Best Italian Cooks.
Though known most for its food market, the Bella Vista neighborhood has made many contributions to Philadelphia’s and America’s history, according to Morello.
"I have a slogan for them: ‘Our people and places changed the world,’" she said.
The locale is home to the nation’s first Italian-American Catholic Church, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi at Seventh and Montrose streets, which dates to 1852. As such, the church pre-dates the creation of the Italian state.
The church is a registered historic landmark, although the parish has merged with the neighborhood’s other church, St. Paul’s at Eighth and Hutchinson streets. St. Paul’s began as an Irish parish before a second wave of Italian immigration around the turn of the 20th century changed its predominant ethnicity, Morello explained.
Bella Vista also is the former site of the first Army hospital in the nation for Civil War veterans. Originally Moyamensing Hall, the building was converted to the Christian Street Hospital. It was later demolished but is memorialized with a state-issued blue and gold historical marker.
The neighborhood is notable for its famous sons, including opera singer Mario Lanza and jazz musicians Eddie Lang (born Salvatore Massaro) and Joe Venuti, as well as its infamous sons, like mob bosses Angelo Bruno and Nicodemo Scarfo.
The Italian Market itself is about a century old and follows south along Ninth Street from Christian Street. Some consider Washington Avenue the southernmost edge, while others think that it continues to Wharton Street to include both Pat’s and Geno’s steak shops.
Merchants along the stretch offer an array of products, including fresh produce, meats, fish, cheeses, pasta, oils, spices, chocolates and coffees. Many have been owned and operated by the same family for generations.
"My grandfather worked for a butcher. The butcher retired and my grandfather bought the business," said Charlie Cannuli, of Cannuli’s House of Pork and Prime Meats at 937 S. Ninth St.
That was in 1926. Today, the founder’s grandson still works in the shop, preparing a variety of specially seasoned whole pigs for roasting on a spit.
Similarly, the Villa di Roma restaurant, at 932-6 S. Ninth St., has been in the same family since 1963. The eatery had been around since the 1930s when Epiphany DeLuca bought it. He still operates the business and is president of the 75-member 9th Street Italian Market Association.
"They’re all family businesses. That’s how they start and you still see it now," DeLuca said.
"The market really hasn’t changed that much. I guess you could say it’s in a time capsule. And people like that."
Ninth Street has had its ups and downs over the years, he explained. For example, in the mid-1990s, when the city tore up the street to repair the water mains, business suffered. But it rebounded, even while shopping malls and chain supermarkets have made avenue-style business districts an endangered species.
"I don’t believe anybody is a threat to us," DeLuca said. "We offer the same things (supermarkets do) at probably a more-reasonable price."
In fact, on weekends, the street is generally mobbed with tourists. Morello’s current mission is to bring in a broader public on Fridays, when the real savvy shoppers make their rounds.
"Fridays at the Market, the purpose of that is we wanted to generate more business and to make it an event," she said.
Plus, Friday visitors get "first choice" of goods before the big Saturday crowds. ••
The tours are available every Friday for about three hours, starting at 10 a.m. Tourists could travel on foot or by bus, to cover more ground. Pre-registration is required, and fees vary depending on the size of the group and any specific requests. For information, call 215-334-6008 or visit www.ItalianMarketTour.com
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com