Born in 1845 in Viggiano, Italy—a town in the southern Italian province of Potenza—Pascal Gerardi came to the U.S. in 1871. The son of a musician and cabinet maker, in his youth he learned to play the violin; this skill word eventually pay for his passage to America. Gerardi settled first in Nebraska where he operated a store. In 1876, he came to Trinidad, Colorado by way of the Old Santa Fe Trail. Around this time he married Regina Springer born in Missouri in 1859. The couple had three children: Katherine, Mary and Vincent L. Gerardi.
By 1880, Pascal Gerardi was managing a saloon and teaching music in Trinidad. In 1881, he opened a grocery store at 341 N. Commercial Street (later locations for the store included 114-118 W. Main and 131 E. Main Street). Gerardi’s Groceries thrived, becoming an important part of the Trinidad community. In addition to operating a successful business, Pascal Gerardi belonged to the Masonic Lodge and was an active member of the Democratic Party. He also served as a director for the Trinidad First National Bank. A leader in the Italian community, Pascal Gerardi encouraged his fellow Italian immigrants to be good citizens, and to work for the betterment of themselves, the Italian enclave, and at the greater Trinidad community. Pascal Gerardi died in Trinidad on October 27, 1889.
After Pascal Gerardi’s death, his son Vincent took over the Gerardi Grocery Store, incorporating it as the Gerardi Mercantile Company in 1889; at the time the business was valued at twenty-seven thousand dollars. The store continued to offer customers a variety of products and goods. By 1913, Gerardi’s handled groceries and meats exclusively, selling to both wholesale and retail customers.
Reader note: This article originally appeared in Andiamo! in February of 2018. All rights reserved.
