by PolackTony » Mon Mar 06, 2023 11:33 am
chin_gigante wrote: ↑Mon Mar 06, 2023 2:56 am
PolackTony wrote: ↑Sun Mar 05, 2023 5:29 pm
I’m interested in the Blimpie’s location too, lol. There’s hardly any of them left now.
The most in-depth information about Basciano's Blimpie franchise I could find was from Anthony DeStefano's book Vinny Gorgeous:
At the end of 1988 or early 1989, not long after state police interviewed him about the Colangelo case, Bascaino, released from his work-release program on the gun charge, went back home to his wife Angela, and their three sons in the Bronx - their youngest son, Michael, not yet born. Parole officials, state records show, were impressed with the 'excellent support base' Basciano had at home, meaning his wife and children. He also had two video rental outlets to which he returned for work, and he was preparing a Blimpie sandwich franchise store nearby as another venture in his business empire on East Tremont Avenue.
The Blimpie operation was little more than another food joint in an ethnic Italian and Hispanic neighbourhood. Basciano worked behind the counter himself, slicing the provolone and salami and serving customers. The neighbourhood liked that kind of service from an owner, and Basciano's chattiness endeared him to customers. When business was slow in the sandwich store, he could always go next door to the video store.
Unable to compete against bigger video chain stores, Basciano began transitioning his businesses soon after he left state custody. Records show that in November 1991 he incorporated Tremont Nail & Tanning Salon, Inc, which he ultimately named Hello Gorgeous, on East Tremont. With both Vinny and Angela on the premises, Hello Gorgeous did well for a while. Nicknames don't always stick, and his businesses sometimes provided him with new ones. Vinny from the Bronx had become 'Vinny Blimpie', and now the salon inspired his latest moniker, the one that stuck: 'Vinny Gorgeous.'
I also checked my notes on Cicale's ancestry. His connection to the Rongas comes from his paternal grandmother. As far as I've been able to figure out, her parents were from Sant'Antimo in Naples.
Thanks, man. Probably was the Blimpie that used to be on Tremont and Dill in the Neck (today a Subway franchise).
Sant’Antimo in the past was in the same province as Nola, but they were in different districts. It’s a common enough surname that I wouldn’t suspect that Cicale’s ancestors were likely to have had any direct relation to Gaetano Ronga.
[quote=chin_gigante post_id=254613 time=1678096567 user_id=5708]
[quote=PolackTony post_id=254532 time=1678062579 user_id=6658]
I’m interested in the Blimpie’s location too, lol. There’s hardly any of them left now.
[/quote]
The most in-depth information about Basciano's Blimpie franchise I could find was from Anthony DeStefano's book Vinny Gorgeous:
[quote]At the end of 1988 or early 1989, not long after state police interviewed him about the Colangelo case, Bascaino, released from his work-release program on the gun charge, went back home to his wife Angela, and their three sons in the Bronx - their youngest son, Michael, not yet born. Parole officials, state records show, were impressed with the 'excellent support base' Basciano had at home, meaning his wife and children. He also had two video rental outlets to which he returned for work, and he was preparing a Blimpie sandwich franchise store nearby as another venture in his business empire on East Tremont Avenue.
The Blimpie operation was little more than another food joint in an ethnic Italian and Hispanic neighbourhood. Basciano worked behind the counter himself, slicing the provolone and salami and serving customers. The neighbourhood liked that kind of service from an owner, and Basciano's chattiness endeared him to customers. When business was slow in the sandwich store, he could always go next door to the video store.
Unable to compete against bigger video chain stores, Basciano began transitioning his businesses soon after he left state custody. Records show that in November 1991 he incorporated Tremont Nail & Tanning Salon, Inc, which he ultimately named Hello Gorgeous, on East Tremont. With both Vinny and Angela on the premises, Hello Gorgeous did well for a while. Nicknames don't always stick, and his businesses sometimes provided him with new ones. Vinny from the Bronx had become 'Vinny Blimpie', and now the salon inspired his latest moniker, the one that stuck: 'Vinny Gorgeous.'[/quote]
I also checked my notes on Cicale's ancestry. His connection to the Rongas comes from his paternal grandmother. As far as I've been able to figure out, her parents were from Sant'Antimo in Naples.
[/quote]
Thanks, man. Probably was the Blimpie that used to be on Tremont and Dill in the Neck (today a Subway franchise).
Sant’Antimo in the past was in the same province as Nola, but they were in different districts. It’s a common enough surname that I wouldn’t suspect that Cicale’s ancestors were likely to have had any direct relation to Gaetano Ronga.