1892
New York in the Gay Eighteen Nineties had almost everything, except for a place where an opera lover, after a night of Verdi or Puccini, could relax, play a Neapolitan card game called “Scopa” and drink a cup or two of espresso.
This situation was remedied when our great grandfather, Enrico Scoppa and our great grand-uncle, Antonio Ferrara, opera impresario and showman, opened a cafe called Café A. Ferrara. Caruso thought the coffee marvelous but especially loved the cookies and cakes.
USA