It’s easy to drive past Tontitown, Arkansas, and think of it as just another small town with no particular significance. But, if you do, you’ll miss out on incredible history that is best experienced through your taste buds.
Tontitown began in the late 1800s with about 40 families of Italian heritage putting down roots that have become traditions today in the form of festivals, food and family.
These Italian farming families set sail for the United States in 1895 to escape high taxes, political unrest and unpopular colonial wars, according to Tontitown.com. Most of them first settled in southeast Arkansas but soon moved on to northwest Arkansas’s good climate and cheap land that was more reminiscent of their native Italy. Led by Father Pietro Bandini, they scraped through a harsh winter in 1898. When spring arrived they began farming vegetables, strawberries, apples and grapes.
They renovated an old schoolhouse and built a Catholic church, St. Joseph’s. By fall they were ready to celebrate a successful harvest with a festival.
The immigrants and their descendants, as strong as the names they bear — Bandini, Maestri, Pianalto, Piazza, Franco, Ceola, Ranalli, Mantegani, Pozza, Ardemagni, Cortiana, Bariola, Zulpo, Granata — built up the town over the decades. Some served the church, others gave their lives in wars. Some were town leaders and business owners, others were teachers. Some continued farming, others turned the grapes into wine or opened restaurants to feed them all.
While some of those early restaurants and wineries are no longer, Tontitown’s Italian culinary heritage continues through some iconic and longstanding venues.