Joe Bologna’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria has been a Lexington staple for 50 years, ever since Joe Bologna launched the restaurant in 1971. Bologna had honed his culinary skills working and managing other restaurants, cooking for as many as 3,000 when he worked as a cook in the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam and later for some high-profile military generals.
Joe Bologna’s famous breadsticks, served with plentiful garlic butter, were inspired by a similar item Bologna’s brother sampled at an Italian festival in their native Detroit.
After working in restaurants that made up to $1 million a year, Bologna opened his own restaurant at the corner of Maxwell and Limestone, near the University of Kentucky’s campus. In his first week, Bologna recalls making 40 pizzas and bringing in $635. A few students who were some of his first customers promised they’d tell all their friends to come try a slice or two, and so they did. The restaurant grew 19% week-over-week in its first two years.
“I always thought when I was a kid that food was the way that I wanted to go,” Bologna said.
A native of Detroit, Bologna grew up in an Italian family, and his grandmother was a great cook. He fondly remembers eating at her table every Sunday. His grandfather, also named Joe Bologna, had a market named after himself. The younger Joe decided to put his name on his restaurant, too, in a similar testament to standing behind your product.
After expanding to other locations that later closed, Joe Bologna’s located to 120 W. Maxwell St. in 1989, where it operates today. The gothic-style building was constructed in 1891 to house Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church. It was later rededicated as a synagogue before renovations for the restaurant.
Joe Bologna’s famous breadsticks originated from an idea Bologna’s brother had after sampling a similar item at an Italian festival in Detroit. The breadsticks were huge and served in a pool of garlic butter.
“They’ve been a tradition ever since,” Bologna said.
Lexington residents Sherry Shannon and Mark Bryant have been regular patrons for decades. Shannon remembers eating at Joe Bologna’s on opening night 50 years ago, when she was 11 years old.
“I remember all the booths were taken so we sat at a little table,” she said, adding that she ordered pizza; her mom chose eggplant parmesan, and her dad, lasagna.
Shannon still eats at “Joe B’s” a couple of times a week and even worked there in the 1980s as a prep cook. “I have probably eaten everything on the menu at least once,” she said. “Of course, my favorite is the pizza — always has been.”
She said Joe was the best boss she’s ever had, and working there was like working with family. Even now, Bologna occasionally asks her if she’d like to come back and work.
“I say, ‘No, honey, I’m too old!’” she said, laughing.
Lexington resident Mark Bryant has eaten at Joe Bologna’s since 1976 and more frequently over the past 15 years. He said his favorites include the small hamburger pizza and the chicken penne, adding that he’d put Joe B’s pizzas on par with any he’s tried in Chicago, New York and elsewhere.
Overall, it’s good food, reasonable prices, friendly staff and his chats with Joe that keep Bryant coming back.
“It’s not easy running any business for 50 years,” Bryant said. “Joe keeps it on an even keel; seldom any surprises. You’ve got to respect that kind of skill and the ability to build a good team that helps him maintain that quality.”
Many patrons will recall seeing Scher Bologna, one of Joe’s two daughters, at his restaurants, whether she was running around as a young child or working there from age 12 until just a few years ago, holding positions including busser, dishwasher, pizza cook, dinner cook, host, cashier and manager.
“It’s an honor to be his daughter,” Scher Bologna said. “He has been an inspiration and a wonderful, kind, humble boss.”
Scher Bologna said her dad works just as hard as his employees, even at age 77, and never complains, putting his employees and guests first. He also donates to various charities and is a proud supporter of UK.
“It was his dream to open his own restaurant, and now he’s done it for 50 years,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud of my father.”
Joe Bologna has weathered ups and downs over the years as an owner, including the recession of 1992 and the recent challenges posed by COVID-19. He is thankful for the forgivable Small Business Association PPP loans that helped him stay afloat and for the flexibility of his staff members, who quickly pivoted to a curbside dining model.
“During recessions, normally the first thing people cut out are restaurants and bars” to save money, he said.
Looking back, he said the most rewarding aspect of the past half-century in business has been watching employees who’ve worked there graduate from college and go on to successful careers of their own.
“I’m happy [when past employees] say, ‘I gained my work ethic there.’ Everybody here works hard,” Bologna said. “If I gave them that, it’s probably been my best satisfaction.”
Bologna, who turns 78 in April, still regularly puts in 40 hours a week at the restaurant. He says he plans to work until he’s 80 and “see how I feel after that.”