The same census and 1900-1901 New York City directory show Antonio living with his wife and children across the street at No. 1940 showing an advertisement for Veniero’s, with 342 East 11th Street at the far right. The Southwest corner of First Avenue and East 11th Street ca. 342, which had residences above the ground floor, housed 13 families, all Italian immigrants or of Italian descent, according to the 1900 Federal census. This part of the East Village was well populated with Italian immigrants, mostly Sicilian, although Antonio was from Naples. Veniero hired other Italian immigrants also skilled in confectionery. Antonio sold homemade candy and espresso, the beans of which were roasted in the backyard. Originally the business, then called Antonio Veniero Confections, was founded as a social club, complete with pool tables. By 1894, he bought today’s 342 East 11th Street, a pre-old-law tenement built in 1865-66. At 15 years old, Antonio began working in a candy factory downtown.
Photograph by Liza ZapolĪntonio Veniero immigrated to New York from Italy in 1885, in the period following Italian unification when poor Italians, especially southern Italians, began to l eave the country en masse, seeking better lives and opportunities. Robert Zerilli at Veniero’s, March 13, 2014. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, do hereby cite Veniero’s Pasticceria & Cafe as a true New York immigrant success story and extend best wishes for continued success – Governor Mario Cuomo, August 30, 1994 In fact, in 1994, to mark its hundredth anniversary, Governor Mario made this declaration about Veniero’s: Veniero’s is not just a great East Village and small business story, but it’s also a wonderful immigrant story. Located just down the block from our offices, we have a special love for Veniero’s - from which we have been known to indulge in a treat from time to time (or more) - and a special insight into the beloved business’ rich history, thanks to an oral history that Veniero’s current co-owner Robert Zerilli, grand nephew of Veniero’s original founder, conducted with us in 2014. This venerable local institution has been serving confections, cakes, and pastries to New Yorkers and visitors ever since from its home at 342 East 11th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, in the heart of what was once the East Village’s own Little Italy, and remains one of the few surviving businesses from that once-thriving community.
On September 23, 1894, one of the East Village’s longest-running businesses, Veniero’s Pasticceria, opened its doors. Veniero’s Paticceria at 342 East 11th Street
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