On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

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It used to be known as The Florentine Garden before it became Lucy’s. It was on that stretch of Medford Street that eventually leads you to John’s Auto Sales. Lucy’s joins the ranks of places in that area that are now gone like Bradlees and Roma Bakery. Remember when the hot bread sign was flashing on the bakery? Many times we would buy a few loaves of Scali and eat a whole loaf on the way home. I digress.

Lucy’s was there for years and many Somerville folks have a lot of memories about the friendly family eatery. A one word description could be what one Somerville pizza lover said, simply “delish.” First of all, let’s talk about some of the yummy items that were on the menu. Pizza, delicious salads, fried clams, double steak tips, french fries, great chicken and onion rings. They had something called “Jo Jo Potatoes” that were out of this world.

Do you remember the 10 cent draft beers? Some friends remember hanging in there listening to Oh Mickey, and Always Something There To Remind Me on the jukebox. Another friend tells me that she used to take the cheese off of the pizza, eat the crust, and save the cheese for last. All this while listening to The Archie’s Sugar, Sugar on the jukebox. That song came out in 1969.

A friend’s mom was a waitress at Lucy’s for years. While her mom worked, my friend would sit in a booth and do her homework. Another pal remembers going in Lucy’s and having a beer, when all of a sudden he saw his dad on the other side. He took off and was home in a flash. The place was a perfect hangout for the people who worked at Bradlees and Burger King. I understand that sometimes Lucy’s stayed “open” until 3 a.m.

I heard that the site of Lucy’s is now some kind of a private club. Supposedly, Steve’s bar was at the site for a while too but I am only going on hearsay. A lot of Somerville kids remember it as a great place to go to after youth hockey games on Sundays. A dish called steak tip parm sounds absolutely awesome! Sitting in Lucy’s watching a Patriots game and chowing down sounds like it would be just perfect.

One of our dear friends named Marcia was one of the best waitresses ever. She worked at Lucy’s for years. (Hello to Debbie and Gary!)

The area around where Lucy’s was is full of memories. John’s Auto sales used to be a gas station that was owned by John’s father. As we mentioned before, Bradlees was where target is now, and Roma Bakery was across the street.

It’s funny how we will drive through this great city of ours and still remember some of our favorite spots that are gone. The sign may be different, the front of the store is completely changed, yet all we think of is what used to be there. Just drive by the site of Lucy’s and you will experience a flood of memories. That’s one of the things I love about living in Somerville for an entire lifetime.