Josie’s Spaghetti House
Josie’s Spaghetti House was an Italian restaurant at 906 Regent St., on the northwest corner of Park and Regent streets. Josie Schuepbach opened it in 1964[1]. It was known for homemade sausage and spaghetti and meatballs[2], and pizza was on the menu[1]. It closed after a fire in July 2004[2].
History
The corner was once known as "Spaghetti Corners." Before Josie's, the building at 906 Regent St. housed Jimmie's "Ace of Places" Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge, run by Jimmie Puccio, and then the Tiki Lounge[3].
In its first year it advertised as "Josie's, 3 Sisters Supper Club," with a Friday menu of all-you-can-eat perch and, on Mondays, a $1 spaghetti plate[4][5]. The building, built in 1941 as Jimmie's Restaurant, was demolished in 2009[6].
Josephine Magnasco Schuepbach was born in Sicily and raised in Madison's Greenbush neighborhood. She began cooking professionally in 1941 and ran the kitchens of several Italian restaurants before opening her own, including DiSalvo's on Regent, Tony's on W. Washington and Fedele's on Park Street. With her sisters Mary Schiro and Santina Koeppel she also owned the Three Sisters[1].
In 1984, when Sunny Schubert reviewed it, the restaurant had been open 20 years and was managed by Josie's daughter, Joanne Jensen; Josie, retired, still stopped in several times a week. Schubert called it "neither fancy nor trendy... a red-checked placemat place"[1].
An early-morning fire in July 2004 did about $100,000 in damage, and the owners never reopened. Its contents were auctioned on May 14, 2005[7]. In 2008 a developer proposed a six-story apartment building with ground-floor shops for the corner[2].
Pizza
- 1984: the menu had "all the Italian classics ... spaghetti and meatballs, mostaccioli, ravioli, lasagna, pizza, antipasto"[1].
Locations
- 906 Regent St., at Park Street (1964–2004).
See also
- 3 Sisters Dining Room
- 3 North Park Street, across Regent Street
- 1960s (decade)
- Josie’s Spaghetti House in the Madison Pizza Wiki database
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Schubert, S. (1984, January 15). "Good food and service are a tradition at Josie's." Wisconsin State Journal. p. 86. Newspapers.com image 402656445.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Rickert, C. (2008, November 15). "Development planned for Josie's site." Wisconsin State Journal. p. A3. Newspapers.com image 407779086.
- ↑ (2026, July 5). "Throwback photos: Remembering Josie's Spaghetti House." madison.com.
- ↑ (1964, August 28). Restaurant ads: Josie's — 3 Sisters Supper Club, 906 Regent (Friday menu); Troia's Steak House, 661 State St. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 30. Newspapers.com image 400626857.
- ↑ (1964, November 9). Josie's, 3 Sisters Supper Club, 906 Regent Street: "Thrifty? Bring your family" — $1.00 spaghetti plate, Mondays only. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 16. Newspapers.com image 397275925.
- ↑ "906 Regent St. (AHI reference number 111709)." Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory. Retrieved October 28, 2026.
- ↑ (2005, May 8). Josie's Italian Restaurant, 906 Regent Street: complete business liquidation auction, Saturday, May 14 (Badger State Auction & Real Estate). Wisconsin State Journal. p. 140. Newspapers.com image 406834938.
