SUPERIOR — Even when snow flies this winter, a taste of the Carlton County Fair will be found in Superior every weekend.
Little Italy, known for its Italian sandwiches, pasta and more, is moving into the kitchen at Average Joe’s Pub, 1310 N. Fifth St., starting Friday, Aug. 22. The grand opening weekend includes prize drawings every half hour, live music from Rafe Carlson starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, and a meet-and-greet with players from the Duluth Harbor Monsters on Sunday, Aug. 24.
“I’m super excited. We’re fired up,” said Average Joe’s manager, Emily Jones.
The restaurant got its start at the Carlton County Fair.
“We built Little Italy from scratch four years ago at the fairgrounds and every single year people go, ‘This food is fantastic. Where’s your restaurant?’” said Brigham Fanning, chief executive officer for the restaurant.
The owners of Little Italy, from left, Kristen and Brigham Fanning and Tim and Wanda Mike, pose on a bench at the Carlton County Fairgrounds in Barnum, Minnesota in August 2024. Behind them is the stadium named in honor of their Italian restaurant, which was launched at the Barnum fairgrounds four years ago.
Contributed / Little Italy
They have a great building at the fairgrounds in Barnum, Fanning said, but it was only used seven days a year for the Carlton County Fair and Barnum Spring Fever Days. They’ll continue operating at those events.
The business started taking its Italian cuisine on the road in May. The Little Italy food trailer spent over 100 days at venues throughout the Northland this summer. That’s how they connected with Average Joe’s Pub.
“We originally just got them to do their food truck here for some of our big concert events, and then it just kind of snowballed into this collaboration,” Jones said.
The Big Boy Italian sandwich is the most popular item on Little Italy’s menu, according to chief executive officer Brigham Fanning.
Contributed / Little Italy
Their food, Jones said, is excellent.
“So good. The pizza bread, hands down. The cheesy garlic bread, the sausage and pepper sandwich, so good,” Jones said.
Little Italy will serve up food at Average Joe’s from 4-11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.
“We just have your usual bar food Monday through Thursday,” Jones said, but weekends will belong to Little Italy.
“This will probably end up being our primary customer base just because this is going to be year-round now,” Fanning said.
In addition to sandwiches, Little Italy offers pasta dishes like chicken Alfredo (shown) as well as pizza bread and cheesy garlic bread.
Contributed / Little Italy
The restaurant has a month-to-month lease for the space, Fanning said, and plans to employ two full-time and three part-time employees at the pub.
Fanning was at Average Joe’s on Tuesday, Aug. 19, to receive a new sandwich cooler for the kitchen. Other new equipment Little Italy has brought in includes a commercial oven and a broiler.
“Obviously, we plan on being here a long time,” Fanning said.
While they will start with their classic Italian menu, he said they expect to expand to offer specials like smashburgers and wings.
“Cocktail and food pairings, you know, like kind of elevated a little bit but still keep it as Superior as you can,” Jones said.
Brigham Fanning, chief executive officer for Little Italy, stands in the patio behind Average Joe’s Pub with manager Emily Jones on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
Maria Lockwood / Duluth Media Group
The partnership benefits everyone, she said. Little Italy gets a year-round space, and the food will provide customers (who Jones said range from college students to seniors in their 80s) with a reason to stay longer than just one drink.
“Because I have a lot of people that come in and they want to stay for longer, but they’re like, ‘Well, gotta go get dinner,’ and then they leave. Now they don’t have to leave,” Jones said.
Maria Lockwood covers news in Douglas County, Wisconsin, for the Superior Telegram.
Dining and Cooking