On a sunny day in 1854 the Bailer family stood proudly in front of their brand new gingerbread decorated Hotel and Restaurant, on what was then Ludlow Avenue in the Bronx. Bailer’s, as the establishment was then known, soon became a landmark in the rural community and the family grew and prospered as the Bronx grew around it.
The years slipped away. The century turned. And as storm clouds gathered heeding World War I, two brothers in law arrived from Esperia, Italy and their futures and the Bailer’s Hotel’s future were destined to meet.
It was not until the year 1940 that Giuseppe Perrotta and Giuseppe Bevilacqua purchased Bailer’s. This was the birth of “Joe & Joe”.
In the years to follow, the two Joes become known throughout the city as excellent and knowledgeable restaurateurs. A tradition in fine family-style dining began.
A generation later, in 1960, the two Joes retired, passing on the reigns to oddly enough, two Tonys; Tony Perrotta & Tony Longobardo, members of the younger generation well groomed in the tradition of Joe & Joe. Now a city landmark, it continues to flourish under the very able leadership of the Longobardo family.
Now over the 70 years and 3 family generations later, the Longobardo’s continue the tradition of good home-style cooking in Pearl River, New York.