HERSHEY, Pa. --
For more than 75 years Lucy's Cafe served up Italian food to celebrities, sports stars and lots of regular folks in Hershey -- but no more.
On Monday, the restaurant was destroyed by fire, authorities said. The restaurant had been recently sold.
"It's really a big shock -- I can't believe it," said Dawn Millar, a longtime customer of the restaurant.
Millar said she was among the longtime customers watching as the old, family-owned restaurant in the 200 block of West Chocolate Avenue went up in flames.
"I bought sauce from him every other week," said another customer, Mike Megoulas. "He used to sell sauce in quarts. It was the best sauce I ever had."
Lucy's Café sold its last quart of sauce a couple of weeks ago and closed on New Year's Eve.
The Tatangelo family sold out to Hershey Entertainment and Resorts at the end of 2007, but said they never thought it would end this way.
"My husband proposed to me at the restaurant. He owned it before I married him, it was in his family," said former owner, Chris Tatangelo.
Tatangelo said that the family thinks the fire may have been started by a spark near the oil tanks -- which were being pulled out Monday.
A total of 75 firefighters from several companies -- some of whom said they had enjoyed their share of Lucy's pasta through the years -- fought the flames, using aerial ladders and braving the frigid temperatures.
They said a business next door called 911 at about 4:30 p.m., but when firefighters got there the basement was already full of flames.
Despite their efforts, they said the building was destroyed.
For those watching, they said it was truly was the end of an era.
"We've been eating here for as long as I can remember," said Millar.
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