But while dining in a restaurant about 10 years ago, the Sorrentinos noticed tabletops featuring railroad timetables under a lacquered finish that seem to withstand punishment well. She ran wet teabags over the copies to give them an aged look, and her husband did the rest, gluing the newspaper clippings to the tabletops and painting them with a clear, resistant finish. No two of the endlessly fascinating tabletops are the same. As soon as people heard we were selling the place, they wanted to buy them. After that, she will leave for Florida, where she and her husband will move into a condo.
People retire and get sick and all that.
They were right. So this is it, then, the end of an era for TJ's regulars and the start of another one for Thelma and Jim Sorrentino. This place has been in the family since I was 16. I know this is happening, but I still can't imagine it. . . . I'll miss the customers, the family and friends.