San Bernardino is an interesting place. We can sample food, and hear music and language from many cultures here, without having to leave. One of the cultures that has contributed heavily to our area is Italian American.
As a grandson of Italian immigrants, I vividly recall as a 12-year-old when the Cataldos moved from New Jersey — a state with a large Italian American population — to San Bernardino in 1966.
As my interest in local history grew, I found San Bernardino’s Italian connection to be fascinating. One of the families that piqued my interest was the Trozeras.
Rosario (Pete) Trozera was born in Randazzo, Sicily, in 1889. By 1906 the working conditions for the masses were in a state of unrest. Many southern Italians who dreamed of a better life were leaving for America. One of those individuals was 17-year-old Pete Trozera. When he arrived alone at Ellis Island in New York, he had $9 in his pocket. He was among more than one million immigrants who arrived in the United States that year.
Pete worked for a time in the coal mines and then with the Santa Fe railroad, which took him to Cucamonga in 1912. During the time with the railroad, he met the Mercandante family, was introduced to young Mary Mercandante, and was married a short time later.
Hearing that Reche Canyon had land available for homesteading, Pete filed a claim on 160 acres on what later became the Olive Dell Nudist Ranch. He later bought the adjoining 159 acres, built a permanent home and grew olives, grapes, oranges and lemons on his farm.
Pete and Mary, along with their three sons — Vince, Tony and Tom — and one daughter, Frances, continued to live in the canyon until 1942, when they moved back to San Bernardino. Vince stayed in Reche Canyon until 1947 when the family sold the house and 159 acres for $14, 500.
That year, Vince with his brother Tony opened a fruit stand on the corner of Highland Avenue and Muscott Street.
Two years later — on Feb. 16, 1949 — Mary Trozera and her sons Tony and Vince opened an Italian restaurant at 1588 W. Highland Ave. They called it The Mug.
And oh mama mia! The place was legendary in San Bernardino for 66 years.
From that day until The Mug closed its doors for the last time in 2015, generations of families brought their children, who grew up to bring their children, to eat mouth-watering pizza, spaghetti and ravioli.
Jointly the brothers operated The Mug before dissolving their partnership in 1959. While, Tony retained The Mug, Vince went into real-estate for a while.
On March 19, 1968, Vince and his wife, Maria, bought a restaurant, at 142 E. Highland Ave., revamped its menu and image and named it after Maria. The restaurant was named Maria’s Café Italiano.
The restaurant flourished for 22 years before Vince retired in 1990. After recovering from heart surgery, he came out of “retirement” and joined his son Rosario, in establishing another Italian eatery called Maria’s Pasta House.
Maria made ravioli for both restaurants named for her as well as for Tony at The Mug. She continued to do so for The Mug as well.
Vince died Dec. 22, 2000, at age 78.
As for The Mug, in many ways, this popular restaurant retained that 1949 “feel” throughout its history. Both Vince and Tony told me they were told early on that The Mug was the first place to serve pizza in San Bernardino.
Tony made his own sauce, which he and Vince learned from their mother. Her recipe was “putting in a pinch of this and a pinch of that.”
With homemade ravioli, great steak sandwiches, pasta, chicken breast with pasta and garlic butter sauce, and of course delicious thin-crust rectangular sliced pizza, there was something for everyone.
My friends, Steve Portias and the late Sun columnist John Weeks and I used to frequent The Mug. But it wasn’t just the food that kept us coming back. Its owner Tony Trozera’s outgoing personality and gift o’ the gab gave the restaurant a friendly atmosphere.
Police working in San Bernardino’s Westside regularly took lunch breaks at The Mug and brought their families later for dinner.
Up until shortly before his passing on Feb. 13, 2012 at age 82, Tony was there the whole time, greeting customers and treating everyone like family.
Even celebrity patrons became friends for life. Actor Gene Hackman, a San Bernardino native, was one of those who would stop by.
Tony also served on the pit crew of Mario Andretti. The racing legend visited whenever he had an event in the area. He became such a regular that a large signed picture of him went up on the wall.
After his passing, the restaurant went to the hands of his grandson, Jeremy LeClair, who kept it going for a short while.
The Mug finally closed its doors for the last time in June 2015.
Contact Nick Cataldo at Yankeenut15@gmail.com and read more of his local history articles at Facebook.com/BackRoadsPress.
