John Pagano, who was 77 when he died of pneumonia Dec. 16 at St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center in Pueblo, and his brother, Frank, made the phenomenally popular sausage sandwiches eponymous with the Paganos’ celebrated Pass Key restaurants, a local institution.
Known widely as a Pass Key Special, the restaurant’s magnum opus consists of two squares of spicy, hot Italian sausage nested within a hoagie bun grilled on the same surface as the meat.
For fans, the combination creates an addictive, greasy culinary experience that keeps the place teeming with customers at lunchtime.
Recently, a Colorado soldier on funeral leave stopped to order a half-dozen Pass Key Specials to tide him over until he returned from Iraq.
Whenever he visited Pueblo, former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer invariably inquired if he had time to pause for a Pass Key. On a tight schedule, he accepted takeout.
True Pass Key buffs feel strongly that the sandwiches are best eaten on site – hot and fresh and accompanied by fries.
The Pagano brothers have an auxiliary Pass Key restaurant on U.S. 50, which their fans consider convenient but subpar to those served at the original Abriendo Avenue location.
When the Pagano brothers bought the Pass Key from their uncle in 1952, it was in a nondescript, low-slung stucco building down the street.
The brothers made the sausage sandwich into a local icon and moved into a brighter, bigger space up the street.
Pass Key aficionados are split into two camps: those who order the Pass Key with provolone cheese, and those who don’t.
People who keep their calorie count and blood pressure in mind order a half-sandwich, with only one square of sausage. Others go for the regular, a two- square sandwich that could feed a dozen fashion models for a month.
Hot, fresh French fries and a bowl of pickled chile peppers traditionally accompany a Pass Key Special. Few people fail to order the fries.
“You could choose not to have fries with a Pass Key, but it’d be like apple pie without ice cream,” said Kathy Walker, KOA radio news director and a Pueblo native who never fails to hit the Pass Key when she visits her hometown.
Even after retiring in 1998, John Pagano spent most of his time at one of his restaurants, perched on a stool and chatting with customers.
He enjoyed recounting tales of his travels, particularly the times he encountered Pass Key devotees in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and at the Super Bowl festivities in San Diego.
Though his marriage ended in divorce, he remained friends with his former wife, Mary Jo Pagano Stewart, who runs the Pass Key branch on U.S. 50.
Survivors include daughters Kathy Pagano, Julie Courtney and Jonna Pagano, all of Pueblo; his former wife, of Pueblo; his brother Frank, of Pueblo; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
