Pagano family's oldest Pass Key restaurant closes in Pueblo
An iconic Pueblo eatery with multiple locations in Pueblo has closed its flagship restaurant after more than 50 years of serving its signature Italian sausage sandwiches to generations of Puebloans.
The Pass Key restaurant on Abriendo Avenue served its last special on Tuesday.
“Our families are so thankful for the Pueblo community allowing us to serve them,” said Luke Fleckenstein, a relative of Pass Key founders Sam and Teresa Pagano and co-owner of the Pass Key at 3516 W. Northern Ave.
“Our other three locations are still open and we will continue to keep serving Pueblo as long as we can," he said.
While the Pass Key at 518 Abriendo Ave. had served customers since 1969, the first Pass Key on Abriendo became a part of the family business 17 years earlier, when Sam and Teresa Pagano purchased the drive-in in the 600 block of East Abriendo from Pasquale "Paskie" Vitale, the originator of the Italian sausage special.
The couple's nephews, John and Frank Pagano, later took over the drive-in. In 1969, they moved the restaurant to its current sit-down location.
Through it all, the Pagano family kept the traditional special as it had always been.
In the 1950s, Pass Key was reportedly one of only two locations in Pueblo that had a three-way beer license, said Ross Weaver of the Pueblo County Historical Society.
“The three-way beer license was for 3.2 (% alcohol) beer. You could drink in your car at the drive-in, go inside and have a beer or buy a beer to go,” Weaver said. “The other location, I believe, was the Joker Drive In on Elizabeth.”
Weaver remembers often seeing a 1954 Mercury four-door coupe belonging to one of the Paganos parked at Pass Key.
A Facebook post by the Pueblo County Historical Society announcing the restaurant’s closing on Tuesday had generated 172 comments by Wednesday afternoon, many of which lamented the loss of an important piece of Pueblo history.
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In recent years, the Pass Key on Abriendo had been run by Diane Pagano and her son Ryan.
When John and his wife, Mary Jo, brought their daughters Kathy, Julie and Jonna Pagano, as well as son Bob into the business, they were preparing the next generation to take over the family franchise.
“We all started in the basement peeling potatoes,” Julie Pagano told The Chieftain. “And we spent every Labor Day weekend canning cherry peppers,” two of which come with each sandwich.
Today, Julie’s sons Fleckenstein and Dustyn Courtney are carrying on the family tradition at the Pass Key on Northern Avenue. Kathy Pagano remains the proprietor of the Pass Key at 1901 W. U.S. Highway 50 and cousins Steve and Stephanie Pagano run the Pueblo West location at 82 S. Radnor Drive.
“The specials are the main thing and we’ve stayed true to that since 1952,” Fleckenstein said. “The Italian sausage sandwich comes in the square signature patty my grandfather started and the recipe for the bread has not changed."
Schuster's Bakery supplies the bread and Frank’s Meat Market supplies the meat, just as those Pueblo businesses have done for many years.
Weaver and his wife, Judy, a former city councilwoman, “still go to the north side Pass Key about once a week for spaghetti,” he said.
They don’t eat the Italian sausage specials anymore because they're watching their calories, “but from watching (the kitchen) there are still a lot of those made,” Weaver said.
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This story has been updated to include the original Pass Key owner Pasquale "Paskie" Vitale.
Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's oldest Pass Key closes after 53 years serving 'specials'
