“The Feast of All Feasts” Opens For Its 98th Year In Manhattan’s Little Italy
September 12, 2024
The 98th Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy kicks off on Mulberry, Hester, and Grand Streets at 11:30 AM on Thursday, September 12.
Italian sausage and braciole sizzle and pop on the vendor grills at the Feast of San Gennaro, ringing in the 98th anniversary of Little Italy’s famed street fest. Running for 11 days from September 12 to September 24, the Feast brings tourists and locals alike to revel in the smells, sounds, and sights of “la festa de le tutte feste”—the feast of all feasts.
What began as a one-block party in 1926 to celebrate Saint Genarro, patron saint of Naples, now covers three streets from Canal to Houston. It welcomes hundreds of merchants and thousands of festival-goers each year.
Some vendors like Santo Sarino, 49, fly all the way from Italy every year just to participate in the longstanding Italian-American tradition.
Santo Sarino, owner of Gigi’s Tre Cugini, has flown from Torino, Italy to Manhattan’s Little Italy for 33 years to serve up sausage and peppers at the Feast. He prepares the first batch himself, hoping the smells will attract early customers.
“I see people [at the Feast] from all over, but my regulars line up at my stand every year. I look forward to seeing them, joking around, and giving them my best braciole,” says Torino, Italy native Sarino, who runs Gigi’s Tre Cugini stand. Braciole, a Sicilian culinary favorite, is a slow-cooked juicy pork shoulder stuffed with mozzarella and herbs.
Maria Juiga, 15-year owner of popular Caffe Napoli on Hester Street, enjoys the uptick in business but says her favorite part of the festival is seeing friends from her childhood.
“I don’t think the traditions have changed. There’s so much press now that everyone comes, but I still see friends from grade school. It’s a family affair,” says Juiga, 47. Her grandmother started Caffe Napoli in 1972 when women-owned restaurants were few and far between.
Ernesto “Ernie” Rossi, owner of famed Italian goods shop E. Rossi and Co. on Mulberry Street, says the Feast has seen a decline in local customers. Rossi’s family-owned business has been operating in the same location since 1910.
Ernie Rossi of E. Rossi & Co. shows off his shop’s new Feast of San Gennaro shirt designed for the festival’s 98th anniversary.
“Back in the 70’s, buses of Italians from the tristate area would come, but now it’s mostly tourists. The locals have gone. I can count on two hands the number of people in Little Italy who have Italian heritage.”
Rossi, 73, says he may be the last owner of the shop, as rent prices that have driven many Italians out of Little Italy might force him to finally close down.
“My accountant tells me I’m crazy, that I’ve got to give [up the business], I’m losing money. But I was born and raised here, I’m here for the people. The Feast reminds me of that,” Rossi says.
Despite the downturn in local patrons, the Feast of San Gennaro remains a New York City institution. Rent hikes and increased tourism may threaten the demographic makeup of the Feast itself, but here, the heart and soul of Italian-American tradition lives on.
