Let's Eat!

The old saying “You are what you eat” seems to hold true when we consider Louisville’s food landscape over time. The foods that were eaten in this area have both shaped and reflected the culture, traditions, and values of the people living here. The earliest Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne tribes harvested native plants and hunted buffalo. Their diet was inseparable from their natural surroundings and lifestyle. More recently, the influx of European and Hispanic immigrants brought different flavors and also changed the landscape as they planted fruit trees and gardens full of vegetables and herbs from their home countries. With “Dining In” we share some traditions around eating familiar and comforting foods and the importance of home-cooking, eating together, and passing down family recipes.

Food is also a universal connector and invitation to expand your world and discover new cultures and flavors. In “Dining Out” we explore how Louisville restaurants have reflected the tastes of the times. From early saloons and soda fountains to the Spaghetti Economy of the 1950s, to the current diversity of Asian and Mexican restaurants, what we eat does indeed say a lot about who we are.

Hunting, gathering, harvesting, and cooking all took place by the Native American tribes present in this area: the Ute, Cheyanne, and Arapahoe tribes. Due to the similarities of the areas where these tribes were hunting and gathering, the diets of these tribes are similar.

Bison were hunted, wild berries were gathered, roots were harvested with a digging stick, and the Ute tribe in particular used deep earthen ovens to cook their food. This oven was dug four feet into the ground and was lined with stones. Once the food items were prepared, they would be placed into the hole in layers of damp grass and heated rocks. The oven was then covered with dirt to cook the food overnight. Drying racks were also used to dry out meat that wasn‘t eaten right away to ensure it‘s longevity.

While the exact recipe may differ, a staple across all tribes from this area is bread. Most bread was fried but this was not always the case. See the Ute tortilla recipe to try some non-fried bread at home or visit Tocabe in North Denver to try some authentic fry bread yourself.

Italian immigrants were able to retain many of their eating habits even after arriving in Louisville. Pasta, olive oil, and cheese remained staples of the Italian diet despite their expensive prices. Many purchased Italian specialty goods from the Jacoe grocery store or grew their own gardens to prepare traditional foods. Fresh, homemade meals were always better than canned goods, and we can see that in the vast array of tools Italian immigrants used in the kitchen.

Here, Frank Jordinelli stands in his backyard vegetable garden at 1100 La Farge Avenue.

One Louisville resident, Grace Rossi, lived in the Tomeo House from 1924-1941. Grace’s story is typical of many Italian immigrants who lived in Louisville. She kept a garden that overflowed with vegetables: crisp peppers, green cucumbers, and juicy tomatoes that fed herself and her six children. As payment for helping on the DiGiacomo farm, Grace received half a hog at butchering time, from which she made her own sausage, and served it on bread with peppers and onions. The house in which Grace and her six children lived still stands on the museum campus.

“Mine was a very loving home… We ate beans and tortillas every day, and I didn’t even know that we were poor because we were so rich in things more important than money.

Hispanic residents primarily came to Louisville to find work in the mines, the railroads, and the agricultural sector. After a long day’s work, cooking and eating meals together were an integral part of the family’s daily routine. Meals were often filling and nourishing but made from inexpensive and usually homegrown ingredients. Recipes were rarely written down but were instead transmitted within families, and older women taught their daughters and granddaughters how to cook.

“Anybody could come in, drop in…I don’t know how they did it, because grandmas would start making tortillas—make a big bowl of masa tortillas—and she’d be rolling them, and that stack would never grow. One person would be taking those tortillas, and so they were feeding everybody.”

-Linda Arroyo-Holmstrom, Boulder Resident

This early 1900s tortilla recipe (pictured left) comes from Jodie Abeyta Ferrera who received it as a gift from her fraternal grandmother.

“Mention Louisville to the average outsider who isn’t too familiar with the community and his mental reaction will be spaghetti.”

It all started when Mike Colacci, a Louisville coal miner, started a side business with his wife Mary as a short order cook. Though they didn’t serve spaghetti in the early days, Mary’s friends and family urged her to begin serving her infamous homemade spaghetti and sauce in the restaurant. Eventually, the food became so popular that Mike and Mary’s own son, Anthony, opened Colacci’s in 1958 in order to keep up with the demand for Italian food. By 1961, Louisville was known as the “spaghetti capital of Colorado,” and there were at least five spaghetti restaurants in a town of only 2,069 people! Many people traveled from all over to dine in one of Louisville’s Italian restaurants. Colacci’s guest book boasted the names of Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Harry Belafonte, and more!

The dining landscape has changed greatly over time, and while Italian food used to dominate Louisville in the 1950s, the town now boasts sixteen Asian restaurants serving Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, and more. Double Happy, the town’s first Chinese restaurant, has been serving Chinese and Vietnamese dishes on Main Street since 1983. When it first opened its doors to the public, the owners stated, “We wanted to do something special for the town. The city needed to diversify. Louisville is too big to be known only for its spaghetti.”

In the face of COVID-19, community members took to the streets to support local restaurants. This allowed for safer serving and eating conditions while allowing restaurants to reopen, in some cases saving the business from the financial strains of the global pandemic.

At the Louisville Historical Museum, we are committed to collecting, preserving, and sharing the full range and diversity of voices, perspectives, and experiences in our community. Historically, Louisville has always been home to people who came from across the U.S. and around the world.  They contributed cultures, traditions, and lifestyles, and engaged in current events of the day. The same is still true today.

We invite you to share a story, a memory, a reflection on living in Louisville. Be a part of the Louisville story so that your experiences can be shared with future generations.

Visit   "Be a Part of the Story / Sea parte de la historia"   to learn more!