Written by Jim Duncan
Photos by Duane Tinkey
Graziano Bros. Italian Foods
Calabrese immigrants Frank and Louis Graziano opened a grocery business in 1912 on South Union Street in an area that eventually became known as Little Italy. By extending credit to all in need during the Great Depression, they endeared themselves to a generation of south siders. As their family grew, they expanded the business in 1948 into a wholesale distribution company. That boosted the reputation of their Italian sausage, both link and ground. Although their sausage is nationally famous, only a few of its fans realize the store—housed in the original building—is still operating and stocking the city’s best inventory of all things Italian, from exotic dried mushrooms to rare white balsamic vinegars and wines. And the company remains family-owned; third-generation descendant Frances Graziano now runs the business.
Champagne Cake
Dave Stark opened The Bake Shoppe in 2003, determined to bring the past into its future. Stark grew up working in the family business, Barbara’s Bake Shop, from the mid-1960s until 1990. After retiring and doing some traveling, he returned to the baking business. Barbara’s specialized in scratch-made goods, especially “champagne cake,” a light, not-too-sweet cake made with sherry and rum but no bubbly. It was the sine qua non of Des Moines’ finest weddings for decades. Others tried imitating it, but, Stark suspects, without going through the hard work of making the cake’s copper kettle-brewed custard from scratch. “We do so much volume I can afford the time it takes,” he says. “I make batches for 25 cakes at a time.”
The Lunch Counter at George the Chili King
When George Karaidos Jr. opened this landmark diner in 1952, it was the new store in the family business. His father, who emigrated from Greece at 15, had opened a similar restaurant downtown in 1920, and after winning a newspaper chili competition, he renamed it George the Chili King. In 1947 Karaidos’ brother, Jim, opened a new store at Harding Road (now Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway) and Euclid Avenue. George Jr.’s diner survived, with little changing over the years. The classic diner counter is one of the last of its kind in Des Moines. So is the carhop service, which bustles on classic car nights. And so, of course, is the secrecy of the famous chili recipe.
The Pizza Oven at Chuck’s Restaurant
Chuck and Elizabeth Bisignano opened Chuck’s bar in Highland Park in 1956, and daughter Linda began working there a few years later. The place expanded into a restaurant, adding a considerable art collection as the Bisignanos continued to charm the city with their special hospitality. That included feeding
thousands for free each Thanksgiving. After Linda’s death last year, Emily Andersen bought the restaurant intending to keep things as they are, especially Chuck’s original Blodgett pizza oven. It produces the town’s best example of tavern-style pies—thin-crusted and crisp enough to remain parallel to the bar top even when loaded.
B&B Grocery Meat & Deli
Established in 1922 by brothers Archie and John Brooks, B&B is the heart and soul of Sevastapol, a proud town founded during the Civil War and annexed by Des Moines in the 1920s. Historic newspapers going back to the end of World War I cover B&B’s walls like mustard covers the deli’s famous “Killer” sandwiches. A fourth generation of the Brooks family works here now, butchering whole carcasses of pork and beef, making hundreds of sandwiches daily and operating a virtual community center. The deli also has served as a longtime political hangout frequented by south side Democrats.
