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South Philly staple is closing their doors
A staple of South Philadelphia is closing for good after more than seven decades in business. The family restaurant, Bomb Bomb Bar-B-Q Grill is closing because the owners are retiring.
SOUTH PHILADELPHIA - On the corner of South Warnock and Wolf Streets in South Philly sits a staple in the community since 1951, Bomb Bomb Bar-B-Q Grill.
The establishment was named after two bombings that took place at the building back in the 1930’s.
"The old Italian men would come down the street and say, ‘Oh let’s go down to the Boom Boom’. When they said let’s go down to the Boom Boom, they meant it was Jimmy Cataldi’s Bar at that time. My father bought it and he remembered the old Italian men saying let’s go down to the Boom Boom so, he named it Bomb Bomb," says co-owner Frank Barbato Jr.
A name that has stuck, along with their signature barbecue items.
"We learned in Virginia how to do our barbecue. Came back and won a contest, came in first for our BBQ chicken. We had pulled pork, it was great," says Debbie Barbato.
To this day, many still enjoy that barbecue, but just like the additional signage outside, they just couldn’t escape the South Philly influence and their Italian roots.
"Being in South Philly and being very good at what we did, cooking Italian, we were pulled into the Italian restaurant also," says Frank Jr., making their signature crab gravy, chicken Parmesan, and stuffed calamari.
And, the crew has been taking request on the phone for those items nonstop.
That’s because the barbecue, seafood, and Italian joint just announced, they will be closing their doors, as the owners plan to retire.
The announcement has led many to pop in unexpectedly for one last meal and goodbye.
"My wife got a text from one of her South Philly connections that Bomb Bomb was closing so, we said we got to go for lunch. As soon as we found it was open at 11 a.m., here we were," says customer Bob Immerman.
Another customer, Rich Cinquino, says, "Just this morning we saw on the internet an official announcement from the place so, we figured we would come down here one last time for lunch."
While the pair are hoping someone might take over the restaurant, they are just proud of their many employees and customers across the region for making them a special piece of South Philly for more than 70 years.
"Within 10 days or so, it’s going be here and you’re going to see a gone fishing sign on my door," says Frank Jr.
The final day of business is December 28th.