Spiedie

History

The spiedie’s roots trace back to Italian immigrants who brought the concept to upstate New York around the early 1920s, though exactly who first made it is still debated. In Broome County, the earliest versions were strictly spring lamb, but today most restaurants use chicken or pork. Camillo Iacovelli is credited with creating the dish in Endwell, serving it by 1938 at his Parkview Restaurant in Endicott. His brother, Agostino “Augie” Iacovelli, helped spread its popularity after introducing spiedies at his own Endicott spot, Augie’s, in 1939.

The original marinade, which Iacovelli called “zuzu,” was a simple mix of wine vinegar, water, lemon juice, garlic, and mint. Over time, as tastes shifted and different meats were used, Italian spices, olive oil, and minced onion were added. Augie’s son Guido kept the business going into the 1990s, at one point running 26 restaurants. Another claim comes from Peter Sharak, who allegedly invented spiedies and began serving them in 1947 at Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Binghamton, a place that still advertises itself as the sandwich’s birthplace.

In 1975, Rob Salamida became the first to bottle and sell the sauce, having started cooking spiedies outside a local tavern at age 16. After a dozen years building his name at the New York State Fair, a near-miss tornado in 1975 pushed him to bottle the marinade instead. A well-known local spot, Lupo’s, sold spiedies and marinades at its Lupo’s S&S Charpit until the restaurant closed in 2023, though the marinade is still on store shelves. In 1983, a small group of families launched a Spiedie Fest that quickly grew into an annual event drawing over 100,000 people, paired with a major balloon rally.

Even President Barack Obama got in on the fun during a 2013 visit to Binghamton University, joking that he planned to grab a spiedie while in town.