What's in Store at Varone Market Venue: an Original Sign

In 1912, John Varone, an immigrant from Calabria, Italy, built an Italian market at 1800 West 33rd Avenue. It was right across from the Carbone Bakery, whose proprietor had sponsored Varone's entry into America.

Varone didn't start out as a merchant; he worked in Colorado's mines to save enough money to bring his family to Colorado. Later, he and his wife, Elizabeth, lived in an apartment above the market with their children, a number of whom were born there.

The Varone Italian Market closed in the 1960s, after five decades of business, and the building fell into disrepair, at one point turning into a flophouse and then into several apartments. In 2002, Tamas and Helen Kish purchased it, did some repairs and opened a business in the downstairs space while they lived upstairs. When they were ready to sell in 2014, they sold the structure to their neighbor, Scott Nagely, an emergency room doctor turned developer.

Over the past decade, Nagely has transformed the structure into the Varone Market Venue, a spot available for weddings, corporate meetings and other private gatherings and events; he kept many of the storefront's century-old features, including the cooler from the market's early days. The carriage house has also been renovated into an event space.

And recently, Nagely was able to bring back another relic: an original "John Varone Market" sign from the store.
An antiques dealer in Chicago who'd purchased a cache of signs from a ninety-year-old collector tracked the origin of the sign, and contacted Nagely to see if he wanted it. he did, of course, and shared the news with Varone’s granddaughter, who's now in her eighties. In turn, she shared more stories about her family and the role the market played in the neighborhood.

"It's surreal," Nagely says. "The most fun I have is being here and watching people come enjoy the space and bring it to life."