Carol Tolosko created Centi­fonti’s restaurant as a nod to her great grandfather Cosmo Centifonti who immigrated with his wife Carmela, in the late 1800s from Abruzzi, Italy to Burlington, New Jersey.

Cosmo started his “One Stop Shop” — a delicatessen, with an ice cream parlor, candy store, smoking lounge and a bar. Tolosko wished to emulate the concept with her own eatery located in the Village of La Mesa.