May 31, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Bruno’s a second home to CHC students for 18 years
by Mary Price Lee & Richard S. Lee

Tim Bruno, left, and brother Carl congratulate each other on 18 years of success in front of the restaurant’s vintage-look juke box. (Photo by Richard S. Lee)

Tim and Carl Bruno are modest entrepreneurs. Overseeing a panoply of services, they work long hours doing what they love best — preparing and serving food. Whether Tim is offering his incomparable peanut butter pie or Carl is preparing for a catered event, the food is paramount.

Bruno’s Restaurant, perched on the corner of Northwestern Avenue and Germantown Pike, is a second home to Chestnut Hill College students and a welcome port-of-call for Forbidden Drive walkers and just about anyone in the area with a yen for a hot cup of coffee, good food and casual conversation. So far, no horseback rider astride her pony has visited the restaurant, but then, Tim and Carl have not provided a hitching post for this purpose! Indeed, if the Brunos want local color, this wouldn’t be a bad idea. It could augment the bike rack that is out front.

After managing nearby Wawa stores and Tim’s launching of The Hoagie Stop in Flourtown, which he later sold, the brothers moved to the onetime Dew Drop Inn and transformed it into Bruno’s. That was 1989. Tim was 33; Carl, 30. Both had had on-the-job foodservice experience; Carl started with Paul Roller at the old Frog and learned location catering largely from him. Tim, too, is a firm believer in learning by doing.

The years passed; the brothers were rocking along, drawing patrons from Lafayette Hill and Flourtown as well as from the CHC, the Hill and Mt. Airy, then — boom! — the esteemed City of Philadelphia at first reduced the foot-of-the-Hill bridge to one lane (in the wrong direction!), then closed it entirely in what seemed the longest road-building project since the Appian Way.

“The detour on Stenton and Northwestern Avenues was hard for people,” said Carl. “We never got all of our Mt. Airy customers back, but by watching costs and working longer hours, we got through that bad time.” Now, with the bridge rebuilt, people stream in from 6:30 a.m. until 9:30 at night.

Bruno’s is family-oriented and child-friendly, with a great outdoor porch for dining or just having coffee, enjoying the atmosphere and watching the passers-by. Even family dogs are welcome on the porch. There is a continuous stream of walkers going to and from Forbidden Drive and the Wissahickon Creek. The interior, although not shaped like one, is reminiscent of that almost-lost artifact, the American diner. (There is even a vintage-looking juke box; only this one plays CDs!) But for all that, Bruno’s is also a BYOB, where you are free to bring your wine to accompany a simple or elaborate meal. (The menu is varied, largely comforting American classics but with a not-surprising Italian slant.) A recent dinner on the porch was worthy of a Michelin star: shrimp and salmon over linguine with a creamy parmesan sauce; a spinach, sweet pepper and goat cheese salad; and that famed peanut butter pie. Check for two, under $35. Wow!

This varied cuisine travels well, too. Catering is Carl’s specialty, carried out for events at such venues as Curtis Arboretum, The Highlands, Cliveden and at numerous private parties. So popular has Bruno’s catering been at nearby Morris Arboretum that their party area is now called Bruno’s Cafe! (The Arboretum approached them in 2000 to manage their catered functions.)

Catering customers may choose from a complete printed menu, and if asked, Carl is happy to prepare a customer’s favorite recipe (that’s not on the menu) as part of the meal.

Here is a sampling of a typical Bruno’s Catering offering: entree, chicken rosemary with lemon and garlic; fruits, mixed fruit with cream cheese coconut dip; salads, Greek, tuna pasta. In short, Bruno’s Catering is ready for any challenge. (They average one catered event per weekend.) To see how a Bruno’s Catering scene would look in full trim, pay a visit to www.Cateringbybrunos.com.

Back to Bruno’s Restaurant: the staff is plentiful, friendly and devoted. Anne Marie Maletta, one of the pleasant servers, said, “I planned to stay [at Bruno’s] for six months when I started — and that was seven years ago!” That is the loyalty Tim and Carl have built — and it carries over to the customers.

It is almost impossible to visit Bruno’s without chatting with at least one other patron. Whether it’s a baseball card expert showing who is (and was) who on the diamond, or a renowned watercolorist, the ambiance is there, inviting conversation.

One of Bruno’s more illustrious patrons is artist Howard Watson, a great friend of both brothers. Of him, Carl says, “He has donated time for teaching art at Norwood Academy; he is a nice, humble guy. He is also very involved with the Woodmere Art Museum and Carson Valley School.” Tim and Carl proudly display a Watson watercolor of Bruno’s Restaurant on their wall and on the cover of their menu.

The onetime tack shop next door was run as Kelly’s Ice Cream for a time. Now, Bruno’s opens it in season to sell gelato. An ice-cold dessert is just the thing after a vigorous walk through the upper reaches of Fairmount Park.

Carl Bruno holds a degree in Chemistry. Tim has a degree in Economics and Classical Studies. It is not too far-fetched to say that in classic cuisine, he and his brother are tops.

Bruno’s Restaurant, 9800 Germantown Pike, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444. 215-242-1880. Hours, 6:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Open daily except Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

(2) Potential catering customers can see this and other computer images of a Brunoíís Catering table in full glory. (Image courtesy Carl Bruno)