As is typical, the tables at Biggie’s Calm Bar were full Wednesday afternoon with patrons enjoying their lunches. At one table, Port Authority officers were eating burgers and fries; at another, construction workers wolfed down fried clams; and at another a lawyerly-looking group scoffed down some of the restaurant’s specialty, clams on the half shell.
While clams are Biggie’s forte, the unassuming, family-owned restaurant on Madison Street is well-known for its "boardwalk cuisine." The food might be found on a New Jersey boardwalk and includes anything from fried clams to sausages to hamburgers to mozzarella sticks and onion rings.
The restaurant is also known for being run by four generations of the Yaccarino family. And for this, it recently garnered statewide some attention. New Jersey Monthly Magazine has recognized Biggie’s Clam Bar as the "Family Business of the Year" in the publication’s November issue.
The restaurant was founded by Joseph Yaccarino. He came to the states from Italy in 1900 and would often perform a comedy act where he went under the stage name "Biggie." In 1941, "Biggie" started going bar to bar; corner to corner, selling clams out of a bucket for a nickel. That bucket eventfully grew into a push cart and then into a seasonal restaurant on Madison Street.
In 1965, Michael Yaccarino, one of Joseph and his wife Rose’s seven children, took over the family business. Michael, who is known by everyone as "Brother Biggie," still occasionally works behind the counter and is a fixture at the restaurant. He is willing to sit, chat and share memories with just about everyone who comes in the door.
Brother Biggie and his wife Marie, who married in 1958, have two children: Rose Marie and Judy. The girls, like all of the Yaccarinos before them, grew up working in the restaurant.
"It’s about family," said Rose Marie Wednesday. "It’s a place where everybody feels like they are home."
She added that one of the things that make the restaurant special is that it transcends old and new Hoboken. "All kinds of different people from all over Hoboken have come here over the years," she said. "On any given day there might be construction workers, children, seniors, lawyers, politicians, police officers, or firefighters enjoying a meal together. Everybody is welcome."
Rose Marie and her husband Steve Ranuro have been operating the restaurant since 1996, making them the third generation at the helm. The fourth generation, Steve and Rose Marie’s sons, Michael, 17, and Steven, 14, work at the restaurant many weekends. "This is truly a hands-on family business," said Steve Ranuro Wednesday. "Every day you’re liable to see a cousin or an uncle or a grandson working behind the counter. It’s about family and that is who runs it. And that’s who makes it special."
Proclamation
Wednesday, Mayor David Roberts stopped by to issue an official city proclamation recognizing the establishment’s years of service to the community.
"[I issue] this proclamation on behalf of the citizens of Hoboken in honor of the Yaccarino Family’s four generations in the restaurant business," reads the proclamation, "thanking them for providing the people of Hoboken with a warm and friendly family dining experience."
At the table nearest the window, Roberts ate lunch and reminisced about how when he was 10 years old, his mother would send him down to the Hoboken institution to get dinner for his family. "[Biggie’s] will always be a special place for me," said Roberts. "It really does embody so many of the qualities that make Hoboken what it is today."
Sitting across from Roberts was former Hoboken Mayor Steve Cappiello, whose family has been friends with the Biggie’s family for many years. As he loaded up on clams with cocktail sauce, fresh lemon juice, and Tabasco, he passed them around the table for everyone to try.