PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Termini Bros. Bakery is back with its annual Christmas Eve cannoli fare, but this year is special: The South Philly tradition turns 100 years old.
Unsurprising, a few dozen people were already in line long before sunrise, waiting to get in and purchase a fresh cannoli or two. Some started lining up at 1 a.m.
Doors officially opened at 6 a.m. And, for the first time in a while, 83-year-old Vince Termini Sr. greeted his loyal customers.
“I wanted to be here to open the door for them and greet them because I haven’t done that in two years,” he said.
When the pandemic hit, Vince Sr. stopped coming into the bakery to stay safe.
Last year, Termini lovers passed on the tradition due to the coronavirus pandemic, offering only pick-up orders. This year, customers are masked up and ready to go in person, and the bakery is limiting the number of people inside at the same time as a precaution.
That didn’t bother longtime customer Ed Webster, who was glad to continue a tradition he’s been sharing with friends he made throughout the years.
“When you come down here, you see these people once or twice a year. You stay in touch via text, but to see them in person, especially in this crazy world we’re in right now, it’s just nice to feel that with people you don’t even really know, but you’ve gotten to know them,” he said.
Of course, the cannoli craze almost didn’t make it to this Christmas. After Thanksgiving, the bakery’s 80-year-old dough roller broke. Fortunately, another local South Philly shop came through with the fix.
