Tony Bennett's surprising connection with a St. Paul restaurant

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Legendary singer Tony Bennett, who died on Friday at 96 years old, had a surprising connection to a Minnesota restaurant.

Back in 2019, former WCCO anchor Jason DeRusha profiled St. Paul's Caffee Biaggio as part of the DeRusha Eats segment. The owner, John D'Agostino, spoke with DeRusha on how his mother met the iconic crooner.

His mother, Giovanna D'Agostino, was legendary in the Twin Cities during the 1970s as the owner of her homestyle Italian restaurant in the Dinkytown neighborhood. "Mama" wrote a number of cookbooks, her antipasto salad with prosciutto and Italian beef was featured in "Better Homes and Gardens," and she got booked as a guest on the old Mike Douglas show.

"And she met Tony. They hit it off right away, they became best of friends," John D'Agostino said.

"Tony" is Tony Bennett. The legendary singer, with 19 Grammy Awards, became friends with the tiny restaurant owner in the Twin Cities.

"Every time his band -- when they were not as successful -- came to town we would feed them. He called my mother his mom," John D'Agostino said.

Years ago, Bennett asked John D'Agostino to mail him a photo of his mom and his dad.

"About eight months later, UPS showed up at my door with two paintings: one of my father, one of my mother," he said.

Two of his originals hang over the St. Paul restaurant. The signature on the bottom of each painting reads "Benedetto," Tony Bennett's original family last name.

As a child growing up in Astoria, New York, Tony Bennett dreamed of being a painter. Oprah Winfrey also owns one of his pieces and three original artworks are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution, including his portrait of Duke Ellington.

NOTE: Featured video is from 2019.