From Pharmacy to Italian Landmark: The Story of Spirito’s at 228 W Main, Collinsville

Spirito’s Italian Grocery- Historic Italian Pride in Collinsville, IL

Some buildings simply sit on Main Street.
Others stand at the center of it.

Spirito’s Italian Grocery, located at 228 W Main Street in Collinsville, IL, occupies a corner that has served this city continuously since 1880. For generations it operated as a neighborhood pharmacy—most recently remembered as Ostle Drug—where locals filled prescriptions and exchanged daily conversation.

Today, that same corner feeds the community in a different way.

And it couldn’t be placed more symbolically.

The building sits at the edge of Main Street where festivals begin, where streets close for celebration, and where a giant stage rises for epic block parties throughout the year. It’s a literal and cultural starting point.

Built for a Boomtown

Collinsville’s growth in the late 1800s and early 1900s was driven by coal and clay mining. The mines demanded labor, and immigrants answered—especially Italian families arriving from Calabria, Sicily, and Northern Italy.

They worked the shafts. They shaped the clay. They built neighborhoods. And they brought with them recipes, traditions, and a fierce sense of community centered around food.

Italian groceries weren’t indulgences. They were anchors—necessary places where immigrant families could access familiar ingredients and preserve identity in a new land.

Spirito’s exists in that lineage.

The Modern Beginning (2004–2010)

Spirito’s Italian Grocery was founded in 2004 by Debbie Petty and her mother, Mary Ann Dudley. The original location on Vandalia Street quickly became known for authentic imports and specialty Italian products that couldn’t be found elsewhere on the East Side.

In 2010, after Route 159 was widened, the store relocated to 228 W Main Street—stepping into one of the most historic commercial buildings in Collinsville.

The name Spirito’s honors Spirito Gio Domino Chiarottino (1881–1956), an Italian immigrant coal miner who arrived in 1904. His story mirrors that of countless families who shaped this town.

The Michael Hines Era (2022–2025): Building the Backbone

In 2022, Michael Hines purchased Spirito’s and the historic building.

Michael brought more than ownership. He brought infrastructure.

With Calabrian and Sicilian roots, grandparents who were first-generation immigrants, and over 20 years in Italian food distribution from Chicago to St. Louis, he understood quality control, vendor discipline, and operational structure.

His mother was a professional pizza maker. Italian food wasn’t theoretical—it was generational.

Michael didn’t change the classic recipes or the timeless flavor combinations customers loved. Instead, he strengthened the foundation:

• Clear systems

• Stronger vendor relationships

• Improved inventory standards

• Operational discipline

The soul remained intact.
The stability increased.

Raised in It

Long before he owned Spirito’s, Vinnie was immersed in it.

Michael opened a pizzeria in Pawnee, Illinois called Little Vinnie’s, where young Vinnie delivered pizzas and drinks table-side with chubby fingers and a smile. On garage sale weekends in Central Illinois, Italian Beef sandwiches were sold from the driveway. Teachers were gifted frozen pizzas.

Food was hospitality.
Food was pride.
Food was connection.

That upbringing—Italian roots blended with Midwestern work ethic—became the blueprint.

The Transition (2025): Ownership with Skin in the Game

In 2025, Michael retired gratefully and passed both the business and the building to his son, Vinnie Hines.

Today, Vinnie owns 228 W Main Street outright. He lives just blocks away—close enough to walk to work.

That proximity matters.

This isn’t absentee ownership. This is daily stewardship of a building that sits on the very corner where Collinsville celebrates itself year after year.

In 2025, Vinnie also performed at the Collinsville Horseradish Festival—on the very stretch of Main Street that begins outside his storefront. The overlap of food, entertainment, and community isn’t accidental. It’s lived.

One Sandwich. One Way.

Spirito’s makes one sandwich, one way.

Built on a fresh-baked Italian sub roll from trusted bakers on The Hill in St. Louis, it features:

• Roast Beef

• Ham

• Hard Salami

• Provolone Cheese

Topped with:

• Sliced onion

• Dill pickles

• A single pepperoncini (optional heat)

• A hearty spread of house-made mayo-based “Forgetaboutit Sauce”

No variations. No substitutions. Just consistency.

It’s become part of the rhythm of Uptown Collinsville—especially during festivals, when the corner fills with music, laughter, and the smell of Main Street in motion.

A Living Landmark

Since 1880, 228 W Main Street has served this community.

It has dispensed medicine.
It has witnessed mining booms and block parties.
It has watched immigrants build families and families build businesses.

Today, under local ownership rooted in Calabrian and Sicilian heritage, Spirito’s Italian Grocery continues that tradition.

Grounded in history.
Strengthened by systems.
Positioned at the very corner where the city gathers.

The mission remains simple:

Feed more people. More often.

And at the corner where Collinsville celebrates, that mission is just getting started.