Cafe Lombardi’s of Horsham celebrated a 30-year milestone last month.

Since its grand opening in September 1996, the traditional Italian-style restaurant has been operated by two, three, and now four generations, each of whom share in the day-to-day, each with overlapping roles.

At the helm has been Tom Lombardi, Sr., who in 1951 found himself at Ellis Island at the age of eight. His father had arrived years earlier from their hometown Maida and was then the proprietor of Roslyn Shoe Repair in Abington Township. Tom Sr.’s mother and siblings arrived three years later.

Tom Sr. graduated from the former Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote in 1965 and met his future wife Jean when they were sophomores. Together they moved to Willow Grove and had Tom Jr. and Gina. In 1991, the Lombardis opened Il Pomodoro (Italian for tomato) in Warminster. Three years later, they launched Lombardi’s Italian Cuisine in Doylestown.

“That was our foray into the restaurant business. We were learning the restaurant business and made some great connections,” Tom Jr. said.

Then, in September 1996, Cafe Lombardi’s took over 294 Horsham Road. The location had been a mom-and-pop pizza shop called Piccolo Italia before the building—slightly more modest in those days—went up for sale.

“My dad had the idea for the location, and he and my mother developed the concept. We introduced some of our now-classics and modeled it after Lombardi’s Italian Cuisine: a BYOB with authentic Italian food,” Tom Jr. said. “Gina and I filed in during our twenties. We were trying to build upon our experiences growing up Italian with all the relatives and the homegrown food. We wanted that Sunday dinner, homestyle feel. Every decision we’ve made has always had those characteristics. It’s wonderful going to a high-end restaurant, but we wanted something more casual.”

Cafe Lombardi’s has hosted engagement parties which led to baby showers, first birthdays, and Sweet 16s. For those involved, watching relationships grow over the years has been a consistent highlight.

“We’ve met children who later became teenagers, got married, and have kids of their own. We attend their children’s christenings and the cycle repeats itself,” Tom Sr. said. “The first time it really got to me was coming across a little girl who looked up at me and said, ‘This is my favorite restaurant. I’ve had my baptism here, now I’m having my first communion. I’ve been coming here all of my life.’ She was five. I thought that was great.”

“One of our real successes is being in our fourth generation. Now our great granddaughter is getting involved. When she was five, she was teaching me how to set the table,” he continued.

The menu and a mural painted along the back wall features the fourth generation. A fifth great-grandchild named Alennia—now a few months old—will soon have a dish named after her “once her personality surfaces”, Tom Jr. said. The mural will also soon be updated with Alennia “and maybe a bigger version of Ariella.”

“It’s nice to see the kids starting to take control and putting out their ideas,” Gina said. “People still come up to us and say, ‘Oh, I remember you when you were this big’. ‘I remember when your mom was pregnant with you.’ The customers turn into friends who turn into family.”

In their spare time, the family also runs an insurance business just across the road called TriCounty Assurance Services.

“People ask us how we manage to run two businesses at the same time, and I just say, ‘We do’,” Tom Jr. said. “If I can’t do something, I give it to Gina. If Gina isn’t here, she gives it to her kids. We’ve never had a 9-5 mentality since we grew up with this.”

The family also shares the volume of requests for catering during the holidays and graduation seasons. Over the years, the building has been enhanced, as has Cafe Lombardi’s staff.

“Up until the pandemic, our staff didn’t change much. I think our success is because of how great our staff has been to us. We’ve had career employees that became family. I think we’re so blessed to have had that kind of support and relationships,” Tom Jr. said. “That’s very hard to find. Our chef, Marcelo, has been here 25 years after starting as a dishwasher. Our second chef has been here 17 years. We try to keep the quality of the sauce the same by always having one of the two here.”

Like any long-term operation, the family business has had its share of challenges, one of which was an exterior wall hit by a car at 2:00am.

“That was in 2018 and I’ll never forget it. We had a party coming in at 1:00pm the next day,” Tom Sr. said. “I got a call in the middle of the night. So, between 4:00am and 12:00pm we were able to partition the wall and host that party, and you would never have known we got hit by a car. We refused to cancel.”

“Some people come in for the first time and tell us the tables seem so close together, it’s kind of tight. By the time they leave, they say, ‘I get it, I understand the feel of the place’,” Tom Sr. said. “I see people who came in as strangers sit next to each other, and by the end they’re exchanging contact information.”

Tom Sr. and Jr. still remember their Bishop McDevitt days fondly and have done their best to maintain relationships from that era.

“My homeroom teacher, Mr. Horn, was there when my dad was a student. He was a stickler and a literature specialist. A very peculiar individual to say the least,” Tom Jr. said. “I think McDevitt is a tight-knit, blue collar, family-and-friend-first type of community. We still have a lot of McDevitt groups that meet here regularly. That community exemplifies who we’ve tried to be.”

With their anniversary month behind them, the Lombardi’s are currently highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Customers are welcome to donate $10, which Cafe Lombardi’s will match along with a T-shirt.

Last but not least, the Lombardis noted that Horsham Township is planning to recognize their 30th anniversary in the near future.

“It’s a nice gesture from the township. We talk about our kids, sports, life, week in and week out with our customers. Getting to know them and their families has been a good portion of my life,” Tom Jr., now 57, said. “The genuine relationships we’ve grown over the years are irreplaceable.”

“I think of all the people over the years, where they liked to sit, what they liked to order. And unfortunately, some of them have since passed. We do a lot of funeral luncheons because they requested us. They’re our regulars,” Tom Sr. said.

For more on Cafe Lombardi’s, you can visit their website and Facebook page.

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