Cacia's Bakery in South Philly continues Thanksgiving tradition
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- While many people are busy preparing their Thanksgiving turkeys, others turned to a local bakery to help with the roasting.
For more than 70 years, family-owned Cacia's Bakery has helped South Philly residents prepare their holiday feasts by cooking Thanksgiving turkeys in their brick oven.
"It's a tradition for a lot of people in this city," fourth-generation General Manager Joe Cacia told CBS Philadelphia. "A lot of people have their Black Friday shopping tradition. A lot of people have a tradition where they go to the same place for Christmas. But for a hundred people outside, this is their tradition."
Around 4 a.m. Thursday, people started lining up outside Cacia's on West Ritner Street near 16th Street to have their birds wrapped and tagged by bakery staff, before the plethora of poultry gets loaded into the oven.
Lisa Butler got in line with her 21-pound bird around 5 a.m., her second time bringing a turkey to Cacia's.
"The turkey's real good, they do an excellent job," she told CBS Philadelphia's Marcella Baietto outside the bakery.
"We're responsible for everybody's turkey at Thanksgiving dinner. At the end of the day, I have to make every one perfect," Joe's father Sam Cacia said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam said the number of turkeys dwindled. But this Thanksgiving, they're back to the expected number of birds.
And if you want Cacia's to do the cooking for you next year, Sam has a request: "Bring a metal pan with a handle, so I have some place to put a tag."
Those disposable aluminum pans? According to Sam, they're a "nightmare."
