Founded in 1948 by Henri Lenoir, the Vesuvio Cafe became a popular hangout for Beat writers like Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassidy.
From the Vesuvio website:
"On October 17, 1955, Neal Cassady, the real life Dean Moriarty of the quintessential Beat classic On the Road, stopped at Vesuvio on the way to the now legendary Six Gallery for a poetry reading, and the place has never been the same. It became a regular hangout of Jack Kerouac and other famous Beat poets and has become ground zero for pilgrims on the Beat trail ever since."
