When you’ve been a part of the community as long as the Lemucchi family, you become ingrained in its very fabric. Joe Lemucchi immigrated to California from Lucca, Italy, and opened his original cafe in 1906 on Sumner Street. He later married fellow Italian Emilia Degiuli and they moved to the current location on East 19th Street in 1910.

Together they raised four children, Louis, Lena, Harry and Helen, in the home behind the original store. Not only did Lemucchi cater to the culinary needs of the Italian community, he also built small cottages at the back of his property that he rented to Italian bachelor immigrants.