If you went to high school prom or were a wedding guest between 1963 and 2023 in the Boston area, there’s a pretty good chance you were at one – or more – of the over 800 proms or countless weddings at Lombardo’s in Randolph. The iconic chandelier was a popular spot for prom photos. Lombardo’s closed its doors in January 2024 after four generations of ownership and over 60 years in business.
The current generation of the Lombardo family, however, has continued to embrace the family hospitality tradition. Matt Lombardo’s brother, sister, and cousin purchased a catering company near Boston after Lombardo’s closed. Matt, with a business degree in entrepreneurship from the University of Vermont, had already moved to Jackson Hole after graduation to pursue his two passions: cooking and skiing (maybe not in that order). His Jackson Hole roommate needed someone at the back of the house of his two restaurants, and Lombardo was the perfect fit. He stayed there for five and a half years, and states, “That’s where my culinary life really blossomed.”
While Matt and his siblings were raised in Wayland, Matt’s family also had a house in East Falmouth. While he was out west, his mom, Cindy, would often try to persuade him to move to the Cape and buy Chef Roland’s in Mashpee, knowing that Chef Roland was planning to sell the business. Matt did move back east after his mother was diagnosed with cancer, so he could be close to her, and worked at Lombardo’s again. Sadly, Cindy lost her battle with cancer. Not having a clear career path in sight, Matt decided to purchase Chef Roland’s to honor his mother’s memory and fulfill her dream for him, starting work there in the summer of 2019. The purchase went through in late summer of 2020, during the early months of COVID.
Matt kept the name Chef Roland’s Catering for two years but then rebranded as Pink Door Catering & Market in 2022. Why “Pink Door”? The color honors his mother’s memory in two ways. Pink brings to mind cancer awareness. More significantly, and much more personally, is that the family homes always had bright pink front doors, signifying welcome to friends and family. “Our house was always the spot where friends were appreciated, with my mom cooking up a storm. Once you were invited, you always had a place at our table from then on. We counted you as family,” Lombardo grinned at the memories.
Matt’s Italian and Jewish family always expressed their love through cooking, helping and comforting others with shared abundance. Food as love. He continues the tradition at his market where customers are greeted as old friends, and indeed most seem to be on a first-name basis.
As you walk through the modest pink doors, you’ll see a finely-tuned system unfold before you. A cozy open office – really Lombardo’s nook to be accessible, but also to keep his eye on everything – is immediately on the left. As you swing clockwise, the deli is busy customizing sandwiches and tacos; the take-and-bake dinner preparation and packing is straight ahead. To the right you’ll find Byron Gillin either cooking or baking. Byron is one of several valued members of the Pink Door team, having continued from the Chef Roland days.
There are usually several take-and-bake dinner offerings to choose from. Chicken marsala, chicken piccata, chicken or eggplant Parmesan, beef bourguignon and lasagna Bolognese are standard, but there are seasonal additions like apricot chicken or apricot pork chops. The dinners are offered as single and double servings in their own handy aluminum baking dishes. Thirty minutes in a 350-degree oven, and dinner is ready.
The half-pound lobster roll is the perfect blend of a “Lil Mayo, Lil Celery, Lotta Lobster” according to the menu. Brian Hughes chopped the celery fresh for my roll (freshly baked on premises daily), and it was loaded with enough luscious lobster chunks that it should have lasted for two meals. It did not. Although I happen to like a lot of mayonnaise, many people do not. The lobster meat was so fresh and perfectly cooked that extra mayonnaise would not have added to the experience. Pink Door has achieved just the right amount to satisfy any lobster roll aficionado.
In addition to the lobster roll, there are another ten deli sandwiches, several hot subs and salads, and at least two taco options. A freezer holds an abundant array of soups and chowders, along with stuffed quahogs, chicken pot pies and desserts. Pink Door offerings, from soup and salad to dinner and dessert, could help a busy person avoid a trip to the grocery store for a few days. They have several gluten-free and/or vegan items available.
A take-out catering menu is available (with a requested 10-days’ notice), where you can order and pick up prepared foods – Lombardo calls them backyard favorites – for a cookout, dinner party, birthday celebration, casual wedding or any other event where cooking for a large crowd could be simplified.
They will create customized wedding menus, tailored and personalized for the bridal couple that, along with providing bar service with “unbelievably delicious drinks and spirits,” has garnered two WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards since opening the pink doors.
Lombardo and his staff pride themselves on their chef-inspired, scratch-made meals. As he reiterates, “there’s a lot of love in our kitchen and our products.”
Cindy Lombardo’s favorite holiday chicken recipe follows. Fittingly, it is one of the most popular take-home dinners at Pink Door. She would love that.
Pink Door Catering & Market
800 Falmouth Road, Mashpee
pinkdoorcatering.com
