Lombardi’s 1025 Club, the revered Johnston banquet hall on Plainfield Street is quiet — for now.
It is a Saturday afternoon. One function has ended. The tables have been cleared. The clanging of dishes, the hum of another crowd temporarily silenced. In a couple of hours the place will again be packed.
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So Steven Lombardi has just a few minutes to talk. But he makes the time. I want him to tell me about his father, Rudy, who Tuesday (March 11) celebrates 50 years in the banquet business.
There is a certain irony at work. So many times in recent years Steven has watched his father greet countless patrons with a firm handshake, a pat on the shoulder. Often, Rudy turns the subject to his family. A proud father telling friends how proud he is that his sons Steven and David have found such success in running the 1025, which the family acquired in January 1995.
Now, Steven is returning the favor.
“He taught us all how to be a success in life,” said Steven.
And that’s what this is about. A father leaves an indelible mark on his children. They admire his work ethic and in turn pay the highest compliment. They emulate him. And we all benefit because along the way one successful business turns into another – into another. The common denominator being hard work.
Indeed, Rudy Lombardi leads by example. He works hard – always has. And he treats people well. That’s a formula for success in any business. Add to that simple formula good food and a clean operation, and your success is ensured in the banquet industry.
Rudy’s father was a chef at the Biltmore. His godfather Ralph owned Providence Catering back in the 1920s. Rudy began working for his godfather when he was a young boy. In an article in the Federal Hill Gazette in November 1997, Rudy shared a childhood memory; “I started working for my godfather at nine. I pitted olives. In those days the No. 10 can contained 556 select olives. I pitted them all with a special tool.”
Rudy bought Ralph’s off-premise catering business, supplying food for events all over the state. Birthday parties, weddings, showers, funerals…
Steven knows the family history. He knows just hard his father and mother Jean worked.
“It was a real physical job back then,” said Steven. “They used to move the stoves from site to another.”
Finding the catering business to his liking, Rudy purchased Rex Tavern on Charles Street. He renovated it and changed the name to Lombardi’s Banquet Restaurant. Years of success followed.
The banquet business was a good one. And few halls in the state were as popular as the 1025 on Plainfield Street in Johnston.
Depending on your age, you may remember it as its earliest incarnation, a nightclub called Eddy and Ray’s. Or perhaps as DiLorenzo’s 1025, the name it held for two decades. DiLorenzo’s was followed by McGarry’s 1025.
All along the 1025 was the place for huge political times – or smaller family parties. It was the place for Little League banquets and high school sports dinners.
But a stumbling economy and a credit union crisis brought the 1025 long run of success to a screeching halt in the early 1990s. DEPCO took it over. For eight months, its doors were closed.
Enter Rudy Lombardi, who bought the banquet hall from DEPCO in January 1995. It was to be a family affair. Son David was on board. He called Steven who at the time was working construction in Massachusetts. David didn’t have to consider the offer for long.
The Lombardi family went right to work. With no parties booked, there was time for a complete overhaul. They built a new dance floor and installed new kitchens. It was hard work. But the father had prepared the sons.
If you’ve been to the 1025 – Lombardi’s 1025 – lately, you know this story has a happy ending. Once the renovations were done, the bookings were next. The weddings returned. So did the retirement parties. And the Little League and soccer banquets, the church dinners. Politicians – of both political persuasions — have also been finding their way back to Plainfield Street. Parties are booked as far in advance as 2005.
This week is a special one for Rudy and Jean. You don’t do something for 50 years without pausing to reflect – to appreciate.
But it is also special for David, Steven and their sister Lorraine. They will try to express to their father just how much he has meant to them – how much they appreciate all those life lessons he so masterfully taught. And they will look forward to the future lessons that a father is sure to deliver.
Rudy and Jean spend a good deal of time in Florida these days. But as winter fades, they come back. Rudy’s first stop is Plainfield Street, to the 1025 – his 1025.
There are people to see. Details to double-check.
“He still has keys to the building,” said Steven. “He still injects his ideas here and there.”
