San Francisco 1905
In 1898 the first of seven brothers from Sant’Elia, Sicily arrived on the shores of an almost unrecognizable San Francisco. Growing up just outside of Palermo in a small fishing village, living off of the sea was a part of life and lessons learned on that rocky outpost served the family well in this developing metropolis. Determined to be successful in this land of opportunity the brothers quickly got to work. By 1910 our patriarch, Frank Alioto, arrived and fell in line with his other family members to help build the west coast fishing industry. With names like Alioto, Balistreri, Bellanti, Caito, Cefalu, Colla, Gumina, Lazio, Mercurio, Messina, Russo and Tarantino these Sicilian immigrants through hard work and determination cut out a life for themselves as they plied the bountiful local waters. By 1921 they had organized all the individual families into the West Coast Trawling Association which controlled all the seafood production on the west coast of the Americas. By 1940 Frank was ready to branch out on his own and he started the F. Alioto Fish Co. Eager to expand, Frank quickly teamed up with his cousin Tom Lazio who owned fish markets a little further north in Eureka and Crescent City, and in 1941 they formed the F. Alioto Lazio Fish Co. which still operates in the same location today right next door to us. Shortly after the conclusion of World War II, Frank’s son Mario who had worked with his father in the fish markets before the war, decided to open a restaurant right next to the fish company, and Capurro’s was born. Though the original restaurant was knocked down and completely renovated in 2005 we are still family owned with two generations at the helm. We are happy to welcome you today in the same location where you can enjoy some of the freshest local seafood the area has to offer and view our many historical photos that chronicle the history of our family as well as Fisherman’s Wharf.
Sant’ Elia. A small island right outside of Sicily, Italy.
After the seven brothers had established a life in San Francisco they sent for their loved ones. In our family we were told that all seven brothers was from one side of the island and all the wives from the opposite side of the island.
This is a picture of Frank Alioto. The first to open up a seafood distribution company in San Francisco. His company F. Alioto later merged with Lazio fish company and are still in business today right next-door to us. If the name rings a bell it is probably because his nephew later became the mayor of San Francisco.