Nick Mancini
By Mitch Berg
A lot has been written about Nick Mancini, who passed away Tuesday at 80 of complications of Alzheimers.
Mancini had been for sixty years one of old Saint Paul’s foremost restauranteurs; everybody knew him, from politicians to kids in the neighborhood. Mancini’s was a great place to take a date – especially if she was from some godforsaken suburb and needed to be shown how really really fun a night out in Saint Paul could be. So everybody has been eulogizing Mancini.
I’ll add my two cents.
I interviewed Mancini, and his son Johnny, back in 1987. I was doing a story for a local paper about the big new “Vegas” addition to Mancini’s Char House, by then a 40-year institution on the West End (the part of Saint Paul west of downtown below the bluffs). The grand opening the following week would feature Tony Bennett; a who’s who of the old Levee neigbhorhood – Saint Paul’s traditional Little Italy – was going to be there, too – Mama D, Lou Cotroneo, Vic Tedesco, and a zillion other names ending in “o” and “i” unknown to me but fixtures in the old neighborhood.
And if you hung around the place at all, you figured out a lot about the character of neighborhoods like the West End, which, even for a Saint Paul neighborhood (a city called “fifteen small towns with one mayor”) seems like a throwback; a tattered, rough-looking but comfortable and fairly safe neighborhood that, recent up-market moves closer to downtown aside, feels like it’s hardly changed since the end of World War II.
Longtime West Ender Erik Hare – who mooched off of Mancini even more than I did – also wrote about Nick:
My first memory of Nick came when I was working on a political campaign across the street. Nick loved to dabble in politics, and while he took care of everyone he was sure to take care of the public servants he knew served Saint Paul well. I was there one evening when he carted over a great big tray of food.
“Eat it! No, it’s no problem. If you don’t eat it, I’ll just throw it out. You might as well enjoy it!”
He always downplayed his charity, making it almost a sin if you didn’t take it. So we all tucked in with the plates and napkins he thoughtfully brought along. It was great after a hard night of calling people and related politicking. But I had to ask a colleague one question:
“These are great stuffed shells, but I didn’t know they were on the menu at Mancini’s.”
“Just eat” was the reply. And we did. Boy, did we eat that night.Nick often gave away food that way, after church or just when he felt like it. A lot of people came to wonder how he made money that way.
He made enough. Enough is as good as a feast. Everything about Mancini’s is a feast…That was the great gift that Nick gave to us all. He created an institution at the heart of the West End that we know will be a part of us all even after he is gone. A spirit like his is more than the steaks and the good times. Mancini’s belongs to all of us, throughout the community.
Anyway – it’s a legacy one hopes his kids carry on.
UPDATE: And Nick Coleman, working on his ostensible home turf, delivers the kind of column he does best:
I tell people that if you want to “get” St. Paul, Mancini’s is a good place to start. Each photo on the walls is part of the intricately woven story of the people and the place, including shrines to the vanished Monroe and Mechanics Arts High Schools and the legends of the St. Paul Sports Hall of Fame…In my favorite photo [of the hundreds lining Mancinis’ walls], taken on Columbus Day 1931, most of the Italians of St. Paul stand on the steps of the cathedral for the dedication of a monument to Christopher Columbus. Proudly standing in front, with his parents and his sister, is 4-year-old Nick Mancini.
It is a time and a place that are gone. But which left a city and a steakhouse still open for business. Nick Mancini started when he could buy only potatoes six at a time. He ended up helping the poor, feeding the hungry and leaving us a place where the powerful come to be seen — and to be seated — among the common people.
And where Nick was king.
Exactly.
June 1st, 2007 at 11:44 am
The first time I ate there, I was worried about being underdressed. It was a hot summer day and I was wearing a T-shirt and shorts. Once inside, I realized that I fit right into the late afternoon West End crowd. Very casual. And the menu was so simple. What is it? Three items? Loved it.
You are right about the neighborhood. While the east side is transformed (and gotton worse for crime), the west end/West 7th near the Schmidt plant, remains much of the ethnic blue-coller type it always has been. A visit to Coopers Super Valu (the one by the brewery) will tell you you aren’t on Grand Ave.
June 1st, 2007 at 1:38 pm
As much as we (rightly) dump on the guy, Nick Coleman’s column on Mancini was rather good.
I can’t say I ever had the pleasure of visiting the joint.
June 1st, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I work for a supplier to Mancini’s, owned by someone once very close to Nick. Long ago, in my early twenties, I was ordered to take a company van to Mancini’s and load up product to be taken to the (then) Saint Paul Civic Center. For perspective, the owner of my company believes fervently that your hourly wage is what you make, and tips and compliments are wasted money and breath. Upon delivering Nick and product to the Civic center, he offered me a five dollar tip. Knowing my employer as I did, I declined, telling Nick that “I was paid very well ” for what I do. Nick shoved the five in my shirt pocket and said, “Bullshit, I know who you work for, and your not paid very well at all!”
Years later, when friends and I would dine at the restaurant, Nick would always come around to say hello, and I always assumed that this was because of his recollection of our earlier business dealings. I was more than a little hurt to learn that Mr. Mancini greeted every table, every night.
There wil never be another Nick Mancini. Pat and John will do a wonderful job with the Char-House, but they will never fill their father’s shoes. What a great legacy to leave behind!
June 2nd, 2007 at 5:35 am
My dad was good friends with Nick (as was every other Italian in St. Paul), and we went to Mancini’s for many many family birthdays and special occasions. He greeted every single one of us by name every single time we came in. He was a great and gracious host.. He’ll be missed.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:50 pm
I’ve had the priviledge of knowing Nick Mancini for the past 15 years. I always enjoyed going into his establishment for karaoke on Tuesday nights.
Whenever friends or family of mine come from out-of-town, I always take them to Mancini’s for steak. When Nick, Pat or John would find out that my guest was from out-of-town, they would occasionally comp their drink. Needless to say, my friends and family were impressed, not just with the great quality and reasonably priced meals, but the extra touches of hospitality that came with being their guests.
To this day, 12 years after I first took my mother to Mancini’s for dinner for the first time, she still brings up the fact that the first place she looks forward to visiting is Mancini’s for dinner. She only comes to the Twin Cities once every year or two.
Not only did Nick make a positive impression upon me, but my friends and family as well. THAT’S what made Nick not just a great restauranteur, but an icon and ambassador for the entire City of St. Paul. He will be sorely missed!