After more than seven decades of serving the South Philadelphia community and beyond, Bomb Bomb Bar B Que Grill is serving customers for a final time on Saturday.
Earlier in the month, the family behind the popular restaurant -- located on the corner of South Warnock and Wolf Streets -- shared in a post on social media that they would shut their doors on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024.
The statement read in part:
"The Bomb Bomb Barbato family, through 3 generations, has been proud and fortunate to have served the Philadelphia, Delaware County and South Jersey communities for over 73 years. Frank and Deb Barbato will be retiring and closing our doors December 28th
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We would like to thank all of our family, friends and customers over the years who have made Bomb Bomb your destination for great food and fun. We appreciated every minute of our neighbors and warm South Philly community."
Established in 1951, the restaurant's unique name, "Bomb Bomb," originates after a pair of bombings that took place at the building in the 1930s.
The South Philly staple was packed for its final day on Saturday.
"My favorite Italian restaurant in South Philly," one customer told NBC10. "Just the best."
The owners, Frank and Deb Barbato, spoke with NBC10 about the history of their family business.
"It started with my father buying this in 1951," Frank Barbato said. "He lived two blocks down and said, 'I want to buy a business and get into it myself.' I started working with my father when I was 19 but I was here my whole life. But my wife and I decided to make it a full-service restaurant in 1990 and that's how we started with the food and grew into a legacy."
While leaving the business behind will be tough, the couple says they're ready to retire and enjoy family, fishing and fun.
"We want to go dancing," Deb Barbato told NBC10. "We haven't danced in awhile."
The couple said they're hoping someone will come in to buy their restaurant and put their own spin on it while carrying on the good times.
"It was that much an important part of a lot of people's lives," Frank Barbato said. "And we didn't realize how many people."
The restaurant will stay open until the last customer leaves Saturday night.
