From coal patch to Italian kitchens, Crabtree built on 'work and passion'

Crabtree was a village built on coal but fueled by pasta and sauce.

The coal patch five miles northeast of Greensburg made a name for itself as home of two of the most popular Italian restaurants in Southwestern Pennsylvania — Rizzo’s Malabar Inn and Carbone’s.

Established within three years of each other by immigrant families, the restaurants emerged from the Depression to become mainstays of the tiny community and landmarks of Italian cuisine.

Now that Carbone’s is closing, nearby residents and fans from far away are taking stock of its contributions to Crabtree’s history.

The restaurant, more than anything, exemplified the ethos of hardworking Italian immigrants who settled in Westmoreland County in the early 20th century, said Gary Bardine, owner of Bardine’s Country Smokehouse.

The fourth-generation meat cutter is following in the footsteps of his Italian father, Robert, and grandfather, Albert “Stagno” Bardine, both of whom operated slaughterhouses in Crabtree.

“Hard work and passion — that’s what these people are all about. That’s how they lasted so long,” Bardine, 49, said. “They were hardworking, passionate people. That’s how businesses like Carbone’s, Rizzo’s and ours thrive.”

He started his business in 1992, building on land belonging to the Bardine farm where he spent his summers and from where he still gets his beef.

Bardine lamented the fact that younger generations often aren’t able or willing to take over the family business. A study by the Family Business Alliance at Wilkes University found only 3 percent of family businesses make it into the fourth generation.

“A lot of these people died off, so the writing was on the wall,” he said. “We’ve still managed to hold together — myself and Rizzo’s aren’t going anywhere.”

A week ago, Carbone’s announced “with great sorrow” that it will close July 28, acknowledging no fourth-generation family member was in line for succession.

Family matriarch Natalie Carbone Mangini, daughter of founders Natale and Mary Carbone, said the restaurant had made “enough pasta to circle the globe,” employed nearly 2,000 people and served an estimated 2 million customers over 80 years. Mangini, 89, said the family most values its relationships with successive generations of customers. When she’s not in the kitchen, she still makes it a point to visit diners at their tables.

“We’ve been lucky enough to host weddings, birthdays, engagements and anniversaries — and to see our customers return with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” she said.

The restaurant’s lengthy Facebook post announcing the closing received 365 comments and more than 1,200 shares.

As the doors opened at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, a line had already formed outside the restaurant. Diners eagerly filed into the familiar waiting room, where Aly Pegher, 65, of Greensburg remembers a fountain once flowed.

“I was 10 when I first came here. I came from Pittsburgh with my parents,” she said.

Her cousin, Nancy Williams, 69, of Old Saybrook, Conn., remembers coming to Carbone’s when her family vacationed at Ridgeview Park in Derry Township.

“We would come a couple times a summer as teenagers. It was a special occasion,” Williams said. “We would share everything — spaghetti, meatballs, garlic bread.”

Judy Kremposky, 70, of Blairsville has been coming to Carbone’s “once every couple weeks” since 1997. Her favorite dishes are the veal parmesan and the salmon.

“I don’t know what I’ll do for veal once they close,” she said.

Kremposky said she was surprised and saddened when the closing was announced.

“It’s upsetting to me that nobody in the family can take it over,” she said. “I can’t sing their praises enough. They’re excellent, wonderful people.”

Nancy Hunter, 52, of Delmont didn’t make reservations but was content to wait for a table with her aunt. She last came with a group of 10 on the Saturday before Mother’s Day.

“I can’t believe they’re closing,” she said. “It’s going to be missed, I’ll tell you.”

Hunter said she most enjoyed the onion rings.

Janet Karas, 70, of Greensburg grew up in Crabtree at a time — in the 1950s and ’60s — when Carbone’s was the place to go “when you wanted to get the really good Italian stuff.” Rizzo’s was known more as a pizza place and beer garden, she said.

“Up until the two DeFabo boys took over, there really wasn’t much competition,” she said. “Carbone’s kept a lot of the older clientele, where Rizzo’s picked up the 30- and 40-year-olds.”

Her mother, Mofalda “Moffa” Elda, worked at Carbone’s when Karas was a child but eventually migrated to Rizzo’s.

“When I was in grade school and going to the Catholic school, my mother would work there making the pasta and the sauce,” she said. “We would be coming home from the Catholic school, and she would be walking home from Carbone’s.”

Karas, who left Crabtree around age 27, said she remembers attending youth events at the St. Bartholomew Parish Marian Hall and then going to Carbone’s.

“We would walk down to Carbone’s, go into the kitchen and order a pizza. We would either take it home or take it outside and eat it right from the box. It was the only place to go,” she said.

Elda, who died in May at age 100 , later brought her expertise as a self-taught cook to Rizzo’s, where she baked cookies and specialty pastries for the restaurant’s St. Joseph Festival every March.

Some of her other specialties were homemade gnocchi and pierogi — tributes to the Italian and Polish families who settled in Crabtree and worked in the coal mines and coke ovens.

Despite her later association with Rizzo’s, Elda still enjoyed going to Carbone’s, her daughter said.

“It was a staple for those 80 years,” Karas said. “My mother still went there with groups of lady friends for pizza or wings — up until six months ago.”

Carbone’s will be open for normal business hours — 4:30-8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4:30-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday — through July 28, with the exception of July 21 during the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Festival.

Father Justin Matro, priest at St. Bartholomew Church, said Crabtree has survived and thrived because of people’s love for the community. The upcoming festival, with its fireworks and procession on Route 119 through town, serves as a unifying event.

“I think it is a draw to the people who have their family roots. It’s become a family/town reunion, with people coming back from all over the country,” he said.

With three townships coming together in the Crabtree area, with three schools – Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area and Greater Latrobe – “the church becomes the center focus of the town,” Matro said.

Staff writer Joe Napsha contributed to this report. Stephen Huba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Stephen at 724-850-1280, shuba@tribweb.com or via Twitter @shuba_trib.