SCRANTON, Pa. — For more than 60 years, Brunetti's Pizza and Deli has been at the corner of Sanderson Avenue and Deacon Street in Scranton's Green Ridge section.
During that time, not many things about the place have changed.
"This place is the way I remember it growing up," said Mike Brunetti.
Ann and Pasquale Brunetti opened the store in 1958.
Their son, Mike, stepped in to help when his father passed in 1973.
Mike and "Mom" became the new team.
"I grew up here, 62 years of my life, but 45 years side by side with my mom, my best friend," continued Mike.
Brunetti's Facebook page boasts more than 3,000 followers.
To help draw in business, they'd post pictures of Mom with the daily specials.
"Anything you put on Facebook with my Mom, it seemed to go crazy, so we ran with it."
Brunetti's celebrated its 62nd anniversary on St. Patrick's Day.
The next day, coronavirus forced the businesses to close.
Brunetti's offered curbside and to-go, but it wasn't enough.
Now, Mike and the rest of the family have decided to shut down Brunetti's for good.
"It was the best choice to make. I mean, it broke our hearts to do this, but we know deep down that it is the best decision at this time. We want to go out standing tall, not crawling," said Teresa Brunetti.
The Brunettis say a good business can't succeed without loyal customers.
"The people are amazing. They're the reason we stayed. The way that we are, you know that they really grew with us," continued Teresa.
Mike Brunetti says he hopes that the doors won't stay closed forever.
He hopes a young couple, as his parents once were, come in and runs a mom-and-pop store, just like Brunetti's.