On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

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There are lots of sub shops in Somerville that have been there for years. They are all over the city. Most people swear by their favorite establishment and love their sandwiches. Right by the Ball Square bridge, at the corner of Rogers and Boston avenues is a block of stores. If you look above the building you will see two signs. One says Crowley’s Liquors, and right above it there is one that says Todi’s, as in Todi’s Sub Shop.
Past patrons use the words spotless, friendly and delicious to describe the Todi’s sub shop experience. They also  say that the best meatball sub they ever had was from Todi’s. (And by the way, Todi rhymes with Dottie.)

Todi, the owner was a pleasant, jovial, guy who always had something funny to say.  If you had run a camera in there, day by day over the years, you would have a kicking sit-com. There were always a cast of characters in there. Talk about a place where everybody knew your name.
With your meal, you got banter, jokes, gossip and general entertainment from Todi. I used to pop in there after getting a haircut from Fast Phil (from Winter Hill) Rotondo. My friend Billy remembers having his first meatball sub there and the cost? A whopping 30 cents!
The gravy (although in my family we call it sauce) was perfection. The veal and ziti dinner was a favorite but most of the people I spoke to raved about Todi’s meatball subs.
I was also a big fan of his Italian subs.  With a sub, a coke and bag of chips, you were one happy camper.  Cousin Ed remembers there was a guy named Charlie who worked on Saturdays who made the best chicken salad ever. My friend Debbie’s mom worked there for a little bit as a fill in. Her favorite sub was the sausage with cheese sub.  The ziti and veal to go was a weekly tradition for one Somerville family. (Writing this story is making my mouth water!) One Somerville lady used to get her coffee at Todi’s every Saturday morning on the way to Jody’s Dancing School on Rodgers Ave where she taught.
I spoke to a friend of mine who is pretty new to Somerville and lives on my street. She said she enjoys reading my articles but stated that they are mostly for people who grew up here. Well, it’s either that, or I write about my current experiences in Somerville. It would be like this: I dropped the kids off at school and yelled at someone in the Rotary. Last night I went to Davis Square and stood in line for 20 minutes for an ice cream. It was crowded with lots of people. I saw several of my neighbors among the hundreds of students, parents with kids, dogs, and a pretty good singer with a guitar. Local businesses are flourishing and all is good in Somerville land. ZZZZZ !
I love the transformations and growth that our city has enjoyed.  As I wrote in a song that was featured on Kiss 108 in the 90’s. “I’m glad to say I live in Somerville, never gonna move from Somerville!” I am a lifer and the biggest Somerville fan there is. I will defend my city with every ounce of my being!  But for the most part, my mission seems to be,  to pick the brains of those lifelong Somerville folks, and take them on a little journey back in time. I hope our new ‘Villens enjoy some of the tales of old Somerville.
There are conflicting reports regarding the whereabouts of Todi. Whether he is still here, or making subs for the angels, we will never forget him. The owner of the building says the Crowley and Todi signs will stay put as the historic landmarks that they are ! As we speak they are readying a new Subway store in Powder House Square. Just think, in 30 years maybe someone will be writing about all the memories they had in there.
One more thing. I bumped into my friend Charlie at Ciampa Manor who is very anxious to get out back and work in the garden adjacent to the building. Every year Charlie’s green thumb, provides us a spectacle  that is right out of House and Garden magazine. Be sure to keep an eye on what Charlie does this year. He tells me he has some awesome plans!