Family behind Corropolese Italian Bakery credits Montgomery County community for over 100 years of success

More than a century after getting its start, an Italian bakery in Pennsylvania is still baking tomato pies, rolls and cookies.

Whether it's a hoagie, a cheesesteak or something a little saucier, Corropolese Italian Bakery and Deli is a fan favorite in Montgomery County.

"I've been coming here 26 years," Rick Andreoli of Plymouth Meeting said. "It's a real family tradition, and the tomato pie, that's the icing on the cake. I mean, nobody makes that."

"Coming here since I was little," Rachel Sipe of Bridgeport said. "My parents came here. We're Italian and everything is delicious here."

The family-owned small business is known for its tomato pies, but it also offers so much more.

Amanda Corropolese, the general manager at the Norristown location, says the bakery is still rolling out new products. The bakery opened in 1924, and Amanda is the fifth generation keeping this family business running.

"It is crazy to think about," Corropolese said. "I feel like there's only a few of us left, bakery-wise, where we are thriving for this long."

Corropolese says her brother, sister and cousin are also working to write the next chapter in this bakery's book.

"We wouldn't be here without this community, and it keeps turning over," she said. "We have some customers that have been coming in here since the beginning of time, and they know everybody by name, and we know them by name. They get the same stuff every time they come in, and then we have people that are new."

It sounds like "community" is the secret ingredient to success.