It all started when founder Dominic Santasiero, who emigrated from a small town in the foothills of Naples, opened up a small pub on Niagara Street. Now, 90 years later, the restaurant continues to cook many of the authentic Neapolitan dishes it did back then. Spaghetti and Meatballs, Stuffed Shells, Sausage and Meatball Sandwiches, and sauce-to-go, by the pint or quart, are the mainstays.
As Dominic’s four sons became involved in the business, there were some rocky times. During the depression, when people didn’t have the money to go out for a meal, they had a special Free spaghetti with a nickel beer , says great grandson, John Brands, Jr., who operates the restaurant for his mother, Phyllis Brands.
One look at the heaping plates of food coming from the kitchen, and you can guess which one is their specialty. It is, without a doubt, pasta e fagioli, or as the menu board calls it, Pasta Fasoola. An old-fashioned, old-world, macaroni and bean soup, every restaurant has its own variation, but Santasiero’s is the hands-down favorite of Western New Yorkers.
