She was lovely and so sweet. Anytime anyone told her that she was beautiful she’d say, ‘and you’re beautiful also’”

Mary Beth Ryder

In the late 1800’s, Italy suffered a deep economic depression, ravaging the country, prompting thousands of Italian citizens and their families to migrate to America in search of employment, new opportunities and the prospect of a better life. Thousands of these migrants settled in Rhode Island and hundreds made Barrington their new home, finding steady work at two competing, bustling businesses in town  – The Narragansett Brick Company and The New England Steam Brick Corporation – both prospering for nearly 100 years due to the extensive clay deposits discovered in the Brickyard Pond area.

Like most immigrants in those days, be them the Portuguese, the Swedish and so many other Europeans, the Italians settled and lived close to one another for familiarity, safety and convenience. From the “Old Country” they imported and shared, in their new close-knit neighborhoods, their rich traditions of food, hospitality, friendship, romantic language, and most of all, La Familia.

The most prominent of said neighborhoods encompassed the whole of Maple Avenue. Quickly recognized as the “Italian Section” of town, descendants from the original wave of Italians flooded that area. The town grew and slowly morphed into a suburban environment due to the construction of the then railroad that ran between Bristol to Providence.

Maple Avenue grew as well and was eventually, lovingly nicknamed “Little Italy” by the neighborhood residents themselves as a moniker of ethnic dignity. But some outsiders, in an attempt to poke fun and mock a togetherness that they may not have fully understood, dubbed it disparagingly, “Spaghetti Lane.”

When Michael St. Angelo and his fiancé, Mary Beth Ryder, embarked to launch a new restaurant in town, they decided, with profound pride, to adopt and adapt the “Spaghetti Lane” sobriquet as a positive. These two restaurateurs showcase a gathering place where old-world sensibilities are intact, bringing that culture of food, love, laughter and community to a modern-day table and dining experience.

“I grew up in Barrington off of Maple Avenue, behind the high school on Foote Street,” said St. Angelo. “I got involved in the restaurant business when I was about 28. I’m 57 now. I did this small restaurant within  the Touisset Country Club. I had a gentleman named Glen Matouse who worked for me there. He also worked for Camille’s in Providence. Actually, his grandmother owned Camille’s. He was knowledgeable about the business and showed me a lot of what he knew. A lot of his great recipes and insight.”

“My father was a very good cook. He did all the cooking in the house. On Sunday I’d watch him make the meatballs and the sauce. The pasta ,the sausage, pork, the pizza,” said St. Angelo. “He would go behind the YMCA in Barrington to pick mushrooms. He knew which ones were edible and safe. And he’d go out in the yard and pull dandelions to make dandelion salad. He had his own garden for vegetables, growing tomatoes for his fresh sauce. Completely old school. He was also involved in a community garden as well with neighbors, where they grew everything and shared. We would all help jar his tomatoes for the season to have them all through the winter.”

A family focus

Giving, sharing and benevolence towards friends as well as strangers was an integral part of St. Angelo’s heritage and upbringing. His grandparents came from Italy and lived on Maple Avenue. The family settled comfortably in the neighborhood. Large families were the norm in those days. His mother was one of 11 and his father was one of eight boys, four of whom were adopted.

There was a tragic fire in Boston that dominated the news at the time, shocking the region and the nation. A young mother and father had perished in a fire, leaving founr young boys as orphans with nothing and no one. It was a major story. St. Angelo’s grandmother read about the tragedy and did what her heart compelled her to do – she legally adopted all four boys.

“Michael has a big heart,“ said Ryder. “It’s in his lineage, in his background. He makes you feel that you are part of his family. It’s in his smile, in his personality. He loves to welcome and feed patrons, friends and strangers alike. People who come into the restaurant say they feel at home, and that’s because of Michael.”

Mary Beth said community and neighborhood folks alike love to come and visit the restaurant, but she is seeing more and more customers from out of town. Folks in town traditionally would drive to Cranston or Providence for dinner but now there’s a reverse trend where people from those areas are traveling into Barrington to dine.

“Spaghetti Lane is starting to bring people into town to have dinner from areas outside of Barrington,” said St. Angelo. “This has been very good for our restaurant, café and bakery business, but also, it’s good for all the other restaurants here as well as in the community and town as a whole. It’s a good thing.”

The restaurant embodies the family culture. Ryder does much of the baking for the café. She makes lemon squares that are so loved that some patrons buy a box of them before they sit down to dinner, so they don’t miss out.

“I had four sisters,” St. Angelo said. “My sister Linda passed away. She was here in the beginning and she was a big part of who we are now.  My sister Carol makes the meatballs, Debbie makes the lasagna and Patty works the lunch. We also reached out to the high school for help with busing tables, phone orders and even help in the kitchen. It’s a family and community affair. It’s a lot of work and we love it.”

A Hollywood legend

And then of course there’s the story of cooking for, serving and feeding a real live ‘Jeannie’ in a Bottle.

“There are two brothers who frequent Spaghetti Lane when they are in town,” said Ryder. “The Edwards brothers. They are performers in Las Vegas who do a successful impersonation act. They are originally from Bristol, and I believe their parents still live in Bristol.” 

“One night the brothers came in for dinner with their parents,” said St. Angelo. “After they ate, they approached me and said they were good friends of Barbara Eden and that she was coming to Providence for Comicon in November. They said that they would love to bring her here for dinner. They asked that we keep it on the down low, so we didn’t mention it to anyone. They told me this in July. They gave me a date that they wanted to come and as the date got closer Barbara Eden’s agent called a couple days before to make sure that the table for five would be available for her. And then sure enough, to our delight, on one November evening Barbara Eden visited Spaghetti Lane with her party and sat down for dinner.”

“When she walked in, we all just went about our business because we didn’t want her to feel like a spectacle,” said Ryder. “She came in with the Edwards brothers, her best friend and her agent. They sat down and had a very nice dinner (Ms. Eden had the veal and drank water). She very much appreciated that we didn’t make a big fuss and allowed her and her party to enjoy a peaceful, relaxing dinner.” 

After dinner, Ms. Eden offered that anyone in the restaurant that would like to meet her and take a picture with her was welcome, to do so. 

“Everyone took pictures with her and got to talk to her. The kids that work in the café called their parents – all big fans – and they came down also.  All the folks from the café came in. It was quite a night. She stayed a couple of hours. She thanked us and said the food was amazing and she really enjoyed it and her visit,” said St. Angelo. “She was such a nice lady. I’m a big Elvis fan and knew that she had made a couple movies with Elvis. I asked about Elvis and what it was like to work with him. She said that he was a wonderful, kind man. A gentlemen who was brought up the right way.”

During her visit, after dinner, St. Angelo found the “I Dream of Jeannie” television theme music on Spotify and played it in the background, much to Ms. Eden’s delight. “She got a great kick out of it. She was such a good sport,“ said St. Angelo.

“She was lovely and so sweet. Anytime anyone told her that she was beautiful she’d say, ‘and you’re beautiful also’,” said Ryder. “She was gracious and kind. And she IS beautiful. She looks years younger than her age (she’s 92). She loved the food. The brothers said she ate just about the whole plate (Michael gave her double the amount of a veal order) and they said she traditionally doesn’t eat a lot. In fact, she had a small piece of veal left and liked it so much she asked if she could take it back to the hotel and asked Michael for reheating instructions.”

It was a visit St. Angelo and Ryder will always remember. When a mysterious, bejeweled decanter washed up on the shores of a barren South Pacific island, it set the stage for the iconic 1960s sitcom, ‘I Dream of Jeannie’. And in a comedic happenstance, the “Jeannie” was unknowingly let out of the bottle by an adrift, slightly nervous astronaut and straight into television history via the hearts and minds of adoring fans all over the world.

Michael Khouri is a Barrington resident. Reach him at mkhouri@cox.net.