PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Lynora's Italian restaurant, a South Florida staple that started as an 800-square-foot pizzeria in Lake Worth in 1976, is marking 50 years in business — and the family behind it is planning to grow beyond Palm Beach County.
Angelo Abbenante, son of founders Raffaele and Maria Abbenante, now leads the restaurant brand, which currently has 6 locations spanning Palm Beach County from Jupiter to Boca Raton.
"From a little hole in the wall in Lake Worth to now we've gotten to the point where we have six locations we have about five more in the pipeline," he said.
The expansion will reach beyond Palm Beach County, with Melbourne set to be next.
"Our next location is going to be Melbourne, Florida and then from there we're going to hit Fort Lauderdale, and then we have Wellington, Royal Palm Beach coming and then Delray," Abbenante said.
The Lynora's story begins with Abbenante's parents, who emigrated from Italy and chose South Florida after his mother found the cold weather in New York unbearable.
"They came to Italy first and stopped in New York and my mom didn't like the cold weather so she decided to go back to Italy or move to a warmer area, so they had the opportunity to come to South Florida and they landed in Lake Worth," he said.
Growing up in the family business meant no traditional weekends off.
"We didn't have the luxury of the typical American weekends off, this was 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, it was really just putting their feet in the ground. Working 7 days a week and really trying to build a great life for the family," Abbenante said.
He worked his way through every job in the restaurant.
"Dishwashing, washing tables, bartending, making pizzas, working with my mom in the line, just doing whatever had to be done," Abbenante said.
I reviewed an original menu, a reminder of how it all began. A large pizza was priced at $3.65 to $4.70. Many of those early dishes are still on the menu today.
"Yeah, we have all the same dishes from our hoagies where we use the same bread to our eggplant parmesan to our chicken and veal parmesan," Abbenante said.
Reflecting on 50 years, Abbenante said family unity and commitment to quality are what have set Lynora's apart.
"We didn't go out on weekends you know me and my brother it was like we were working and helping mom and helping Dad and when you get to that point you think about the business a little differently - we are really united and I think that is what has made Lynora's so special for the last 50 years. Is when you walk into these restaurants…you get that energy and you get that homemade food. And everything is made with love so it's been a great run and we're looking forward to the next 50 years," Abbenante said.
The recipes have remained true to their origins, with bread, pasta, and sauces still made in-house.
"It really brings us back to how it all started right and the food has been the same, we still make our own bread we still make our own pasta and all the dishes we have created have really been from our mom the sauces," Abbenante said.
Among Lynora's most distinctive preparations is its signature sauce.
"One of the things that is really true to us is how our sauces are made our sauces still take 8 hours to make," Abbenante said.
The restaurant's famous meatballs carry the same recipes as when Lynora's first opened.
"These are actually the same recipes that my mom started 50 years ago, you can kind of see our sauce is a little different than most restaurants... our flavors are basically built into the sauce and our meatballs you know they really speak for themselves," Abbenante said.
Quality and consistency, Abbenante says, are the foundation of the restaurant's longevity.
"It's about making sure that we have the quality ingredients, highest quality, and when you make the food - you have to make sure it's done consistent year in and year out, day in and day out, and when you do that, that's the secret sauce," Abbenante said.
Each Lynora's location is designed to reflect the personality of its community.
"So, when you're Jupiter you get that little feel of Jupiter and when you're in Boca you get that feel of Boca," Abbenante said.
Lynora's pizza is made in a wood-burning oven using a hybrid style that blends New York and classic Italian techniques.
"So we do a mixture of New York style and classic Napoletano pizza and so it's a hybrid and the reason we do that is, because of our oven - our oven is not a gas oven it's a wood burning oven," Abbenante said. "We cook our pizzas typically between 700 to 800 degrees."
During a demonstration, Abbenante chose his personal favorite to make.
"So, we're going to make my favorite which is a classic it's Margherita," he said.
Community support, Abbenante says, has been a key ingredient in the restaurant's success.
"Without the community giving us the support we have we wouldn't be where we're at," he said.
As Lynora's enters its next chapter, Abbenante says what it takes has never changed.
"At the end of the day it's a lot of work a lot of sacrifice it's all the little things it's very meticulous and you have to love it. At the end of the day," he said.
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