Generoso Muro Macaroni Factory

143 Wooster Street (demolished)

Generoso Muro workers, c. 1930s. Courtesy John Migliaro.

Generoso Muro (originally Mura) was born in San Valentino Toria in the province of Salerno, Italy in 1869 and came to New Haven in 1890. He was married to Rosina Russo of the same town. Generoso founded the “Connecticut Macaroni Company” (a.k.a Gloria Macaroni Premiums) on Wooster Street (near the present day location of Libby’s Pastry Shop). They produced “Muro Brand Macaroni.” One of his earliest employees was Frank Pepe, who would later go on to found the world famous “Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana.”

Generoso had his own orchestra along with local Italian singers (Lorenzo Passariello was the male singer) who sang commercials for the macaroni company on radio station WELI. He had four daughters and two sons. His daughter Carmela married Aldo DeDominicis, the first Italian in Connecticut to own a TV station—WNHC Channel 6 in New Haven. In 1948 Aldo along with Patrick Goode established the first television station in Connecticut and Southern New England which broadcast from the radio station’s building at 1110 Chapel Street. The TV station was the first in the country to use videotape for local programming and one of the first to broadcast in color and create local TV shows such as Connecticut Bandstand. In 1971 the station’s call letters were changed to WTNH-TV and began broadcasting on Channel 8. The station moved to its present location around 1984. Another daughter married Frank Tito who worked as the vice president of the company. Generoso passed away in 1950.