CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio– A restaurant in the Coventry neighborhood of Cleveland Heights has been serving up food for everyone for decades.

“It’s known as an institution in Cleveland’s Eastside... but it’s not just because of the food. The Owner, Tommy, says he owes his nearly 50 years of success to his loyal customers that keep coming back for more.”

“It means the world to me because Coventry is my life. I love being down here, I love interacting with the customers, and they’ve taken care of me.

I started when I was- just turned 19 years old- they helped me stay in business,” says Tommy Fello, Owner, Tommy’s Restaurant.

Tommy Fello opened up shop in Cleveland Heights in 1972. They’ve had the same menu philosophy ever since.  Something for everyone, regardless of your dietary preferences or needs.

“I feel strongly about the family unit, and back then, all the hippies were vegetarians, but they wanted to go out to eat with their parents sometimes, and the parents were still meat-eaters. So people say, why do you have meat on your menu? Because I wanna serve everybody.”

“I worked here when I was in high school, and I think it’s a testament to how Tommy was ahead of his time and just thinking about what the needs of the people are,” says Kortez Wilson, Cook at Tommy’s Restaurant.

The menu is full of meals named after the very first people who ate them.

“So, as you look at every single name on the menu, it’s very near and dear to me because I see a face when I see that sandwich.”

From their famous milkshakes to their vegan and vegetarian items, Tommy says everything is made from scratch.

“I’ve been coming here since approximately 1979, and I like the food, that’s the main thing. But really the other main thing is the people. I like the people,” says long-time Tommy’s customer, Dennis McDonnell.

From the people living in the Coventry neighborhood to visitors from overseas, Tommy’s fans come from all over.

“Once a year we come back for Christmas, and we come to Tommy’s,” says Susan Gerlach, visiting from London, UK.

Tommy wraps it up: “I am very fortunate to have 60 great people working here. When I first started, it was a one-person show, and to be able to adapt and have 60 people that care about what’s going on as much as I do, is amazing.”