Dominique and Mary Tuminello might not have started out owning a restaurant, but when Tuminello’s Grocery became the mecca for hungry railroad men, they grew their establishment into what would eventually become Tuminello’s — a restaurant touted as serving the finest food between Memphis and New Orleans.

Dominique Tuminello came to the United States from Cefalu, Italy, which is located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, grandson Skippy Tuminello said.

When Skippy and his wife Gail visited the country years later, he said they had had the opportunity to see where his great-grandfather had lived.

“It was a beautiful palazzo. And grandpa’s people had a big mill, and they raised horses. They were not poor,” Skippy said. They left because of the political situation. “Italy hadbeen taken over by a dictator, so that’s why the family left.”

Skippy’s great-grandmother Mary Gerache Tuminello, who was affectionately known later in life as “Mama Tuminello,” was a native of Vicksburg.

“The Geraches came here either before the war or after the Civil War and grandma was a Gerache,” Skippy said.

After Dominique and Mary married, which was around the turn of the 20^th century, the couple opened a little restaurant in Greenwood. Several years later, Skippy said, they moved to Vicksburg to be near his great-grandmother’s family.

Upon moving to the River City, the couple bought a small restaurant beside the railroad tracks near the foot of Speed Street Hill” according to an article published in the Vicksburg Evening Post in March 1958. The location had been the site of the Old Marine Hospital.

According to an article that appeared in the March 3, 1957, edition of the Sunday Post Herald, the Old Marine Hospital was a three-story brick building that was established in 1853 for the purpose of caring for sick and disabled merchant seamen. A historical marker is located at the site at 500 Speed St. Subsequent articles gathered from The Vicksburg Post archives stated the building was eventually taken apart and the materials sold, leaving the lot vacant until sometime between 1915 and 1918 when a two-story building was constructed for Sherman Wilson grocers. By 1921, the building housed Dominique Tuminello’s Grocery.

TUMINELLO’S KITCHEN

With the grocery being so close to the railroad tracks, the couple did not only have those living nearby coming in, but also the railroad men.

Vicksburg had an abundance of railroad workers because it was a hub for trains. It had a turntable in which trains could come in and be turned around to travel in all four directions — north, south, east and west.

And because Dominque, also known as Papa Tuminello, and Mary, known as Mama Tuminello, lived upstairs above the grocery, when customers did come in, they would of-ten smell Mama Tuminello’s Italian spaghetti and ravioli cooking.

Knowing that folks enjoyed the aroma, Mama Tuminello said in an interview with the Vicksburg Evening Post in 1958 — an edition that focused on the history of the

restaurant and its newest addition — that she asked her husband if they could start serving some of her cooking.

“’Why couldn’t we serve lunch to a few of these people?’” she asked Papa Tuminello. Therefore, 10 to 15 years after opening the grocery, Tuminello’s Kitchen was born.

Mama Tuminello started out small, cooking just a bit for the trainmen. But as the demand grew, the 1958 article said, she persuaded her husband to set up a few tables inside the store. Next came takeout orders. On Saturdays and Sundays, she cooked special orders of spaghetti and ravioli.

Mama Tuminello’s cooking was becoming popular, and in about 1930 Tuminello’s as a restaurant came into being.

Tables were set up on the back porch of the family’s home, becoming a “family affair.”

Skippy, whose parents were John and Mary (Mama Tuminello’s daughter-in-law) Tuminello, said he was born inside the restaurant in 1934, upstairs where the family lived. In time the family moved across the street, he said, to what is now Annabelle.

In 1945, a front dining room for the restaurant was added to the one-room store with the original facility being converted into the kitchen.

The 1958 article went on to say that a year later a portion of the Tuminellos’ back porch was converted into the “Marine Dining Room,” named after the building that once stood on the site.

Skippy said it was in the Marine Dining Room where patrons enjoyed organ music by Al Marble.

In about 1954 the family took on more renovations when the upstairs rooms where the family had lived were converted into a private dining hall.

In 1955, the private dining hall was expanded to accommodate 200 people. A cocktail lounge was also put in and beautiful old iron grill work was added surrounding the upstairs balcony.

For years, Mama Tuminello did all the cooking for the restaurant, but at the age of 72 she retired from the job, the 1958 article stated, and became the “chief taster.”

“No cook in the kitchen thinks his dish ready for the table until it’s been sampled by Mama Tuminello for the ‘Hmmm: it’s just right’ touch.”

Over the years, Mama Tuminello had created some sought-after dishes — recipes that were kept secret — which included her Italian garlic sauce over broiled steak, Oysters Bienville, stuffed shrimp, and Tuminello-style Italian Broiled Chicken.

The 1958 articles referenced in this story were all written to highlight the history of the restaurant and to celebrate its newest addition, a modernized kitchen, and to pay tribute to the three generations who were instrumental in the restaurant’s legacy — Dominique

(Papa) and Mary (Mama) Tuminello; John and Mary Tuminello; and the third generation, Donnie, Mary Elizabeth and Skippy Tuminello.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AND SPECIAL GUESTS

Tuminello’s Kitchen was not only popular with the locals, but its quality food and ambience catered to many notables including governors, movie stars and diplomats.

On May 9, 1959, His Excellency Manlio Brosio, ambassador to the U.S. from Italy, and his wife dined at Tuminello’s during a private luncheon held in their honor. The ambassador and his wife were visiting Vicksburg as part of a tour through Mississippi.

In an article that appeared in the June 17, 1979, edition of the Vicksburg Sunday Post, Mary Tuminello said famous people who had dined at the restaurant included movie stars Tyrone Power, Myrna Loy, Hedy Lamarr and American newscasters Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.

Tuminello’s Kitchen received many notes of praise from its patrons and garnered prestigious awards including a National Award of Excellence that was presented by G.F. Heublein and Bro. Inc, makers of the internationally famous A1 Sauce. Mary Tuminello in the 1979 article said the restaurant “had enjoyed listings by Duncan Hines, all of the gourmet listings, AAA and many other tour guides.”

STILL STANDING

From its humble beginnings to a well-renowned restaurant, Tuminello’s was for generations one of Vicksburg’s shining stars. Wedding receptions and engagement parties, birthdays and anniversaries were all celebrated there.

The Tuminello Kitchen operated for more than 40 years. The restaurant was sold in 1964 when Eddie Simon became the owner. Those who followed Simon in ownership were Charles Toney, Joe Mitchell and Malcolm White Sr., and Jacques Parmigiani who owned the restaurant throughout the 80s.

The building itself was always, and is still, owned by the Tuminello family. For those yearning for a bit of nostalgia, just drive down Speed Street. The Tuminello sign might no longer hang from the building at 500 Speed St., but the beautiful brick and old iron grill work will no doubt transport you down memory lane.