Columbus Day fest brings new life to streets of Little Italy
The San Diego Union - Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; Oct 11, 1999; Nina Kim

Tommy Battaglia's father moved the family from San Francisco in the 1930s to Little Italy here to be a tuna fisherman. After World War II, Battaglia continued to live in the family house on Union Street and he followed in his father's footsteps and fished for tuna, too. Later, he opened Tommy's Quality Meats and Market on India Street. That's how he got his nickname, Tommy the Butcher. He was famous among the children because he would give them free hot dogs and pickles.

In Little Italy during the fifth annual Festa yesterday, his old friends and neighbors still called out to the 73-year-old Battaglia as Tommy the Butcher, although the meat market closed decades ago.

"I love the Festa. It brings it all back. People walking the streets like in old Italy," Battaglia said.

More than 40 Italian-American organizations are involved in presenting the Columbus Day parade and festival, along with the county, the Port District and the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture. Organizers estimate more than 25,000 people enjoyed the parade, festival and savory eats such as pasta, pizza, calamari, calzones, sausages, gelato and cannolis this weekend.

After a freeway came through the neighborhood in the late 1950s, Battaglia's family moved out, as did more than half of the Italian- American families. When Battaglia was young, every family knew the gossip of the neighborhood -- who was dating whom, who eloped, who was getting married.

"There were no locks on the doors. Every time you went to visit someone, you sat down and ate with them," Battaglia said. "You knew exactly what each family was having for dinner just by the smell when you walked by. There is no way for it to be the same. I wish it was still the old way."

That was the Little Italy before Interstate 5, a bustling, tight- knit center of the Italian-American community in San Diego. Then there was the Little Italy after the freeway tore through the heart of the neighborhood. The whizzing of cars drowned out the nights on porches with the sounds of strumming guitars, melodious accordions and gentle voices singing songs from the old country. Many of the families and business moved away. But in recent years, Little Italy has experienced a renaissance.

The Festa, an Italian street fair, marked the rebirth in partnership with the annual Columbus Day Parade. A new generation of Italian restaurants and shops now lines the heart of Little Italy along India Street. Trattoria Fantastic, owned by Joe Busalacchi, is one of the new restaurants.

"We can be another New York City," said Busalacchi, who moved to San Diego from Italy when he was 8. "I started because I wanted to give back a little bit of my culture to people. And food is one way to do it. It is a memory of when you were young, the smells of the kitchen."

More than 200 apartments and condominiums have been built recently, with an additional 300 units planned in the next few years, said Marco Li Mandri, chairman of the Little Italy Association of San Diego. Li Mandri foresees big changes for Little Italy in the coming years -- upscale housing, historic streetlights, reconstruction of India Street from Beech to Grape streets, a neon landmark sign and new parking. San Diego's Little Italy is one of about 10 in the country. Others are in New York City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco, St. Louis and Chicago.

"This is the spiritual center for thousands of people who are connected with Little Italy through their parents and grandparents," Li Mandri said. "We believe Little Italy will become the most desirable urban neighborhood to live in, with a good income and ethnic mix."

Jana Makie of San Diego said she enjoys the neighborhood because of its historic roots. "I feel it is a real community. You can see a lot of different cultures, food and art throughout the neighborhood," Makie said.

[Illustration]
2 PICS; Caption: 1. Street art: Lucy Pryor added the finishing touch to her sister's pastel chalk drawing at the annual Little Italy Festa yesterday. The drawing took more than seven hours to complete. 2. Festa food: Eddie Puente from Mona Lisa Restaurant cooked up a batch of Italian sausages at the Columbus Day fest in Little Italy yesterday. (B-3); Credit: 1,2. SCOTT LINNETT / Union-Tribune
Credit: STAFF WRITER