GIRARDVILLE, Pa. — "We have a lot of loyal customers, and with being closed for the six months, we just had a line down the street," said Claire Salukas, owner of Tony's Lunch.
A bittersweet reopening for Tony's Lunch in Girardville. The legendary burger joint has been closed since July.
Claire and Joe Salukas own Tony's. They say they needed to take some time to heal after their daughter Michelle passed away unexpectedly at the age of 43.
"The customers were saying, oh, we can't wait to get a burger, we can't wait to get a burger, we hadn't had a burger either in all those months," added Salukas. "You can get the same stuff and take it upstairs, but it just doesn't taste the same as when he fries it on that grill."
The food at Tony's is beloved, so much so that Ron Bolinsky changed his cross-country flight to make sure he arrived in time for a meal.
"I said to the wife, hey, their Facebook page said that they were reopening. We weren't supposed to fly in until later tonight, and the hours they posted were only Thursdays and Fridays. I was like, we gotta get here if we're gonna get our fix on Tony's," said Bolinsky from Colorado Springs, Colorado. "So we spent a couple extra dollars and hopped on and early flight and got here at 5:30 in the morning just to make sure I was in line when they opened."
If you're eating at Tony's, you're probably ordering a screamer. The restaurant's famous cheeseburger is topped with hot sauce, butter, onions, and marshmallow fluff.
"They put marshmallow fluff on burgers, and that started when I was a kid, and the reason why they do it because of the hot sauce. If you're a hot sauce connoisseur, that fluff marshmallow counteracts it," added Bolinsky.
The signature burger has had customers packing the eatery on East Main Street for nearly 49 years.
"They are one of the last few mom-and-pop operations around, and I've been coming here since I was a kid. So having that good quality food and that family feel on something like that is unquestionable," Bolinsky said.
"It's really great. I really appreciate all of our loyal customers, and we have a lot of them," said Salukas.
Tony's Lunch is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. or if it sells out.