Courtesy Lombardo family
Angelo Lombardo, Jr., the last of his generation of brothers who expanded the Lombardo family of restaurants, has died. He was 90.
The family's restaurants today span Lombardo’s Restaurant near the airport, Carmine’s Steakhouse and Angelo’s Taverna downtown, and Lombardo’s Trattoria near Union Station. But it all began with a fruit stand at Riverview and West Florissant that expanded to a small restaurant in the 1930s. Angelo and brothers Carmine and Gus eventually took over the establishment from their parents and expanded.
Over the decades, Lombardo’s remained a family affair. Angelo, who played football at Purdue and Washington University at one time, typically worked in the kitchen and believed deeply in fresh pasta. There were family recipes for many dishes, such as the gigantic half-moon toasted ravioli, a recipe from Angelo’s aunt. Angelo was also willing to expand the menu. In 1994, not long after the flagship was relocated near the airport, for instance, he shared about the popularity of the short ribs and the chicken and dumplings.
The next generation, Angelo’s nephew Mike, son of brother Carmine, who worked the front of the house, attended the Culinary Institute of America and worked in the kitchen as well. Today, Mike and his brother Tony run the downtown restaurants, while their sister, Karen, oversees the airport location. Together, they're carrying on a St. Louis family tradition.
"My uncle died at home, on an easy chair, in his sleep," Tony recalls. "The only time he was ever even in a hospital was for a knee operation. He led a long, full life."
Decades and decades of sharing your family’s food with an appreciative public is pretty rewarding. Thanks, Angelo. We’re raising a T-rav to you.
