The Picture Box: Angelo’s Restaurant
The original Angelo’s building at 955 W. Chestnut St. in the late 1940s.
Angelo’s Restaurant founders (and Michael Passalacqua’s grandparents), Giacomina and Angelo Passalacqua.
As Observer-Reporter’s executive editor Liz Rogers wrote in our cover story that begins on page 16, Angelo’s Restaurant has been a signature in Washington since 1939. It began humbly as a shot and beer joint, and grew into a restaurant after patrons tried the Passalacqua’s spaghetti and meatballs. That family recipe is still on the menu today, at a newer and larger location just a bit down the road, under the leadership of the third generation of Passalacquas. The photos on this page show how much has changed in the last 80 years – but also, how much has stayed the same.
The dining room in Angelo’s around 1972.