Lillo’s Tomato Pies, made famous by ‘One Bite,’ opens a second location in South Jersey

Lillo’s Tomato Pies, the roadside eatery on the edge of the Jersey Pine Barrens that became a destination after a rave “One Bite” review from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, has opened a second location in Gloucester City.

The new Lillo’s (say it “LEE-los”), which debuted last week in the former Thomas Murphy Pub at Burlington and Ridgeway Streets, is a far bigger stage than the Hainesport original and features a full bar. It’s also five minutes from the Walt Whitman Bridge, giving Philadelphians easier access (though on-street parking is at a premium).

On opening day, March 5, the crowd started building at noon with students from Gloucester Catholic High School across the street — owner Lillo Paxia’s alma mater. In all, Paxia said, the restaurant sold 230 pies and 400 cheesesteaks.

For the Paxia family, the Gloucester City restaurant — ahead of a soon-to-open location in Queens, N.Y. — marks the latest step in a rapid rise that began in 2021 in Hainesport, about 45 minutes away in Burlington County.

Former Trentonians John Paxia, a retired ironworker, and Lisa Paxia, a former nurse, took over Pizza King, named it after their firstborn son (given name Calogero, “but nobody calls me that”), and began serving cheesesteaks slathered with garlic butter and Trenton-style tomato pie, the crispy, cheese-on-the-bottom, sauce-on-top pizza. (Note: It’s not the same thick-crusted tomato pie found in Philadelphia-area bakeries.)

“From day one, there was a line out the door,” said Lillo Paxia, 25.

Business truly exploded about a year later after Portnoy was driving along Marne Highway on his way to Philadelphia, spotted Lillo’s Trinacria logo, and stopped for a “One Bite” review.

Portnoy gave Lillo’s tomato pie an 8.4, putting it in his elite category. Handed a cheesesteak, Portnoy took a bite and scored it a 9.1, calling it “right up there with the best cheesesteaks I’ve ever had.” The Paxias were also invited to Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Fest, giving them more exposure.

Now the family is betting that the formula that worked in Hainesport can translate to a larger restaurant with a liquor license and live entertainment.

John Paxia and younger son Nicholas, 19, continue to run the Hainesport shop, while Lillo oversees Gloucester City. Lisa Paxia died of cardiac arrest due to an asthma attack at age 51 in April 2024.

Lillo said his mother still shapes the business.

“I still feel her presence around,” he said. “Everybody loved being around her. She was a team player, very selfless. I learned a lot from her — especially when it comes to this business, how to treat people, and how to treat your staff the right way.”

Only the first floor is open for now. The family plans to unveil the second floor and an upstairs patio later, with the next phase centered on the bar program: trivia on Wednesdays, karaoke on Thursdays, DJs on Fridays, and bands on Saturdays.

The room, which has a sports-bar feel, reflects a mix of Chambersburg, Trenton’s old Italian neighborhood, and Gloucester City, a traditionally Irish . A mural along a back wall features a red-haired man in a green jacket standing beside the words “Straight Outta G. City,” while a suited man in a fedora appears next to “Straight Outta Trenton.”

A long wood bar anchors the space, backed by bottles and taps, faux-tin ceilings, stacked-stone columns, pendant lights, blue wainscoting, and striped wood floors.

Among the opening-day customers were Barb and Charlie Gorman, who live nearby and remembered Thomas Murphy Pub as a place for corned beef and fries with gravy.

“It was basically St. Patrick’s Day every day,” said Charlie Gorman, who has the Hainesport Lillo’s. He said the new restaurant feels both different and familiar: a new menu, but the same kind of neighborhood gathering place.

Lillo’s backstory dates to the pandemic. John and Lisa Paxia bought an Ooni backyard pizza oven and started making tomato pies for family and friends. Encouraged by the reaction, they decided to turn it into a business, though they had no restaurant background. John Paxia sought out advice from a friend, Donnie Azzaro, grandson of the owner of Papa’s Tomato Pies in Robbinsville, who became a mentor.

At the time, Lillo was still in college, playing baseball at Florida State, Howard College, and Lipscomb University as pandemic-era disruptions reshuffled rosters. On breaks, he came home to work in the shop.

The Gloucester City move also carries personal meaning. Though the family lived in Eastampton, Paxia commuted 20 miles each way to attend Gloucester Catholic, where he became an all-state baseball player and won two state championships.

“I wanted to go back to where I went to high school, because I wanted to be around all my friends and the community I’d grown to love,” Paxia said. A childhood friend, Nicholas Stewart, is his business partner. Stewart’s mother, Danielle Ruggierio, is overseeing the bar.

The opening was not simple. Paxia said it took nine months to secure liquor-license approval and about two more months to satisfy health department requirements and complete upgrades, including a full kitchen redo.

Lillo’s arrives as Gloucester City’s food scene has picked up, creating momentum for the gritty river town. Elsie’s Burgers & Shakes opened last July, Pudge’s Pub at the former Max’s Seafood came along last November, and Irishtown Steaks is on the way. Also, Angelo’s Pizzeria from South Philadelphia is planning to open a location two miles away in West Collingswood Heights.

The Paxia family’s franchise expansion to Queens, due to open in the next two weeks, is happening through a customer-turned-partner. But Lillo Paxia said his focus in Gloucester City is more immediate: building a place that feels woven into the neighborhood.

“My goal is to get involved in the community and create a place where everybody can have fun, feel like they’re part of something, and feel appreciated,” Paxia said.

Lillo’s Tomato Pies, 157 S. Burlington St., Gloucester City, N.J. Hours: 11 a.m. to midnight Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.