South Philadelphia's Termini Brothers Bakery prepares for Christmas Eve tradition of loyal customers
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's a tradition that stretches more than a century. In just a few hours, a line will start forming outside Termini Brothers Bakery in South Philadelphia as loyal customers wait patiently for the famous baked goods.
Christmas Eve in South Philly isn't quite the same without cannolis from Termini Brothers.
Franny Pellak was born and raised on the famous family-owned bakery on South 8th Street.
"I'm 61, so since a baby," Pellak said. "Yeah, they've been here a very long time."
Christmas Eve is the bakery's Super Bowl.
CBS News Philadelphia went inside the kitchen Saturday night where a batch of the creamy cannoli filling was being made as workers got ready for the onslaught of loyal customers.
"There's people coming from Baltimore, New York, Ohio, and some people believe it or not, they fly here and they come to the airport then come here and then they go and visit their family," Owner Vinny Termini said.
Termini Brothers first opened in 1921 and picking up cupcakes, cannolis, and other pastries on Christmas Eve has become a tradition.
CBS News Philadelphia was told customers start lining up outside around 1 a.m. Heaters have been placed on the sidewalk to keep everyone warm as they wait for the doors to open at 6 a.m.
"We love walking around seeing the options, getting dessert," Blake Avicolli said.
Blake and Ben Avicolli wanted to beat the Christmas Eve crowds and stopped in Saturday night.
Even though they moved to the suburbs, they come back every year.
"My mom passed this year and it just felt like even more important because of that, and my wife was like 'Are you sure you're going to drive down there all the way,'? "It's really important to us," Ben Avicolli said.
"The tradition of Christmas at Termini's is something, that's spectacular," Vinny Termini said.
A tradition the Termini family has been serving up for more than 100 years.