1953 photo of the former “Villa Tocci”.
Named after a region of Calabria, Italy, it was inhabited by the Goggi brothers. They were winemakers and their operation was located at 754 Van Duzer Street in Stapleton (previously home to winemakers Luigi, Bosca & Figli, where the Goggis worked before they bought the business for themselves between 1917 & 1920). It was the perfect place to store wine and beer – as the hillside kept things cool.Notably, the 1854 plant was originally the home of Bischoff’s Brewery, and later Wolf & Reinhardt’s Brewery. [The Goggi’s winemaking plant (and bottling business) was right next door to what some may remember as Demyan’s Hofbrau, and years later, The Caves – but it was originally the Bechtel Brewery, built in 1853.]

Villa Tocci was located on Hylan Blvd near Old Town Road, and the Goggis lived there — until Prohibition killed their winemaking business. This most likely explains why they eventually had to sell their estate …to a religious order. In 1932 Villa Tocci became…

…the Academy of St. Dorothy.

(The building no longer stands. It was demolished in 1972 to make way for a new Convent.)

Before and After

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