Expand<\/a><\/p>\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
It was all-consuming, but it was also a labor of love.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
After a social media post announced the business was closing due to Kathy\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Amid the sadness and uncertainty, Kathy is grateful her cancer was caught early during a routine annual mammogram.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there is one thing I would like women to know, it\u2019s to go for their regular screenings,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s life-saving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bakery built on hard work, family<\/p>\n
When Paulo Lucci, Robert\u2019s grandfather, started the business in 1920, he couldn\u2019t have foreseen its long-term success or the opportunities it would provide for future generations.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
When Paolo died in 1965, his son Alfred\u2014Robert\u2019s father\u2014took 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.<\/p>\n
Robert has many memories of the business, which provided him with not only a livelihood, but a life.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Robert and Kathy Lucci raised two daughters: Angela, a lawyer who works for the state, and Felicia, who holds a doctorate in chemistry.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we have a doctor and a lawyer,\u201d Kathy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach generation wants to do better for the next generation,\u201d Robert added.<\/p>\n
Following Kathy\u2019s recovery, the couple plans to put the business and property up for sale, though they are taking things one step at a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll advertise nationwide,\u201d Robert said. \u201cBut we\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Lucci\u2019s Bakery closes early next month, the Archbald business will leave behind a legacy of family, community,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":270327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[182,139,178,180,179,181],"class_list":["post-270326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news","tag-top-stories-stt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/270327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n![\"Paolo](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-LUCCI-0823-04.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Shown](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-LUCCI-0823-02.jpg?w=620\")
<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/STT-L-LUCCI-0823-03.jpg?w=620\")
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