Pellegrini’s brings southern Italian fare home to Greeley

GREELEY — Both in its previous and current incarnations, a pioneering spirit has propelled a restaurant space in the Cottonwood Square shopping center in Greeley.

For 25 years, the spot at 2400 17th St. was home to Potato Brumbaugh’s, whose menu reflected the Western ranching culture and whose name was taken from a character in James Michener’s 1974 novel “Centennial.” According to the Colorado State Publications Library, the Brumbaugh character may have been inspired by Rufus “Potato” Clark, a prospector-turned-potato farmer who developed irrigation techniques south of Denver and who transported his produce to the city by…