When Lucci’s Bakery closes early next month, the Archbald business will leave behind a legacy of family, community, and quality baked goods spanning more than a century.
Owners Robert and Kathy Lucci, both 68, planned to retire and sell the business within the next few years, but those plans were accelerated following Kathy’s breast cancer diagnosis on Aug. 6.
Serving Lackawanna and Luzerne counties, the business relied on a well-honed routine: arriving just after 4 a.m. daily, Robert handled deliveries while Kathy managed operations, bookkeeping, bills, and a host of other tasks.
Robert Lucci shown walking through Lucci’s Bakery with his granddaughter Francesca Solomon. The bakery is scheduled to close in early September. (SUBMITTED)
Paolo and Anna Lucci founders of Lucci’s Bakery in Archbald shown after the bakery opened in 1920. (SUBMITTED)
Shown are Angela Lucci Solomon, Kathy Lucci, Robert Lucci and Francesca Solomon, front. (SUBMITTED)
Robert Lucci shown with his granddaughter Francesca at Lucci’s Bakery several years ago. The bakery is slated to close in early September. (SUBMITTED)
Show Caption
1 of 4
Robert Lucci shown walking through Lucci’s Bakery with his granddaughter Francesca Solomon. The bakery is scheduled to close in early September. (SUBMITTED)
The couple worked 14 hours a day, seven days a week for most of the year. Most days, they would eat dinner while watching the evening news and head to bed by 7:30 p.m.
It was all-consuming, but it was also a labor of love.
When Kathy received her diagnosis, the couple knew it was time to close their doors. However, they worried about their long-term customers, many of whom have bought baked goods from there for decades.
After a social media post announced the business was closing due to Kathy’s illness, the couple wanted to set the record straight: they want people to know how deeply grateful they are for the opportunity to serve the community, and that they would not have closed so abruptly if not for the diagnosis.
Kathy, who has surgery scheduled for September, intends to make a full recovery. However, she knows recovery will take time and prevent her from working at the bakery.
Amid the sadness and uncertainty, Kathy is grateful her cancer was caught early during a routine annual mammogram.
“If there is one thing I would like women to know, it’s to go for their regular screenings,” she said. “It’s life-saving.”
Bakery built on hard work, family
When Paulo Lucci, Robert’s grandfather, started the business in 1920, he couldn’t have foreseen its long-term success or the opportunities it would provide for future generations.
Born in Italy in 1885, Paolo immigrated to the United States in 1919 with his wife, Anna. He initially worked as a coal miner in Glen Lyon near Nanticoke before moving to Jessup in 1921 to open a bakery.
Demand grew quickly, prompting a move in 1928 to a larger facility in Archbald. During those early years, the bakery produced a variety of breads delivered by horse-drawn wagons. One of those horses was named Caterina, Robert recalled.
When Paolo died in 1965, his son Alfred—Robert’s father—took over the business alongside his wife, Frances. Alfred operated the bakery until his death in 1996, at which point Robert and Kathy officially took the reins.
Robert has many memories of the business, which provided him with not only a livelihood, but a life.
He fondly remembers travelling to Verona, Italy, in 1979, to facilitate the purchase of a Benini oven which was installed at the business in 1980.
Family members said that, at that time, it was a great opportunity to produce Italian-style baked goods using the same kind of equipment used in Italy.
Robert and Kathy Lucci raised two daughters: Angela, a lawyer who works for the state, and Felicia, who holds a doctorate in chemistry.
“So, we have a doctor and a lawyer,” Kathy said.
“Each generation wants to do better for the next generation,” Robert added.
Following Kathy’s recovery, the couple plans to put the business and property up for sale, though they are taking things one step at a time.
“We’ll advertise nationwide,” Robert said. “But we’re not there yet.”