Omaha Exploration

In the last few weeks, we explored the history of Caniglia’s Bakery which turned into Original Caniglia’s Pizzaria and Steak House in addtion to Piccolo Pete’s. Today we explore the history of Mister C’s. But first, this story starts when Sebastiano “Yano” Caniglia met his future wife, Mary Marino when they were teenagers in the early 1940’s at the Santa Lucia Festival. Later they learned that their parents were neighbors back home in Carlentini. They married in 1944 when he was just 20 and she was 19.

Yano was drafted in 1944 and after serving in World War II, he returned home and helped his brothers convert the family bakery into Omaha’s first pizzeria in 1946. Seven years later, he made the difficult decision to leave the family business to start his own restaurant.   

In 1953 he purchased Marshall’s Drive-in on 30th and Fort Street across from the historic Fort Omaha which would later become Metropolitan Community College. Marshall’s had been in business since 1947 but was originally a fruit stand opened by Sam Gendelman in 1933. Yano reopened the business in 1954 as Caniglia’s Royal Boy Drive-in. It had just six stools, 15 carhops and a 2,000 light sign like those in Las Vegas. It proved to be popular among both teenagers and families alike for its pizza burgers, milk shakes, steakburgers, chicken and shrimp.

While they began expanding it into a full-service restaurant starting in 1964, they didn’t rename it as Mister C’s until 1970. That was a nickname given to Yano by his employees. Like many places, the restaurant hung Christmas lights inside during the holidays to add a festive touch. In 1971 an employee asked if he would leave them up until her husband returned from the Navy. While he returned that summer, the lights never came down after that. That year also marked the start of a 20-year tradition in which Mister C’s bought the grand champion steer from Ak-Sar-Ben.

The restaurant which ended its car hop service in 1976, expanded so frequently through 1988 that they hired a full time contractor. Expansions included a basement, two bars, and the outdoor dining area called Piazza di Maria which was designed to resemble an Italian Villa. At its peak the Mister C’s seated 1,400 people. In 1988 the restaurant that was highly regarded for its Italian cuisine and its ambiance was listed as being one of the leading independent restaurants in the United States. Demand for its salad dressing and spaghetti sauce was so great that they even created a wholesale foods division to sell them in grocery stores and online. 

While Mister C gets a lot of credit for the restaurant, much of the success of the family business can be attributed to Mary otherwise known as Mrs. C. Her son David said that his father had the grandiose ideas but it was his mother who made them into reality. 

Since there was no desire within the family to keep the restaurant going, Yano and Mary made the difficult decision to close it in 2007. With its founders in their 80’s and the restaurant showing its age with leaks, burned out lights and faded carpet, they closed its doors for good on September 30, 2007.

Prior to its closing, the city of Omaha declared September 18, 2007 to be “Mister C and Mary Caniglia Day” in honor of the family’s service to the city. Yano once said he couldn’t wait to get to work every day as he considered those that patronized his restaurant to be more than customers. It was like he was welcoming them into his home. Yano was remembered as being warm and welcoming of his longtime customers. He would often sing off-key or play the mandolin. He later hired a violinist to play in the restaurant. When he was sitting down, he could often be found chatting with guests.

Mary passed away in 2011 followed by Yano in 2013 the same year he was inducted into the Omaha Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. The building sat abandoned until it was purchased by a developer and later demolished to make way for a 5-story mixed use building with 110 apartment units, health clinic and commercial space.

Please feel free to comment to share your thoughts and memories.

Until next time, keep exploring!

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