This is the second part of a three-part series about the historic diner. The News Review reported last week that Generous Joe’s was sold to its manager, Greenbelt resident Aaron Mengel by the Natoli family who opened the diner in the Center in 1966 and has owned and operated the restaurant since that time. Last week we shared the beginnings of the Fill Your Belly Deli under Joe Natoli Sr. (“Golden”). For this article Erica Johns spoke with Joe Natoli Jr. about growing up working in the family’s deli, taking over from his father and his decision to retire.
In a 1994 News Review profile of the restaurant, Joe Natoli Jr. told the reporter he started to fry burgers around age 12. When the reporter teased him about child labor laws, Joe Jr. said “his dad would have called it babysitting.” He started working in the family restaurant when “I was a little kid. I probably got in the way. I remember being a little kid waiting on people, and they would say to Dad, ‘Can we get a real employee here?’ I was certainly working there in high school.”
In 1985 the clothing consignment store Chris and Lindsay’s Closet moved out of 105 Centerway next door to the diner, and the owner offered the Natoli family the chance to purchase the space. Joe Jr. was instrumental in convincing his father that the added space was a good idea, adding the booths you see today and doubling the restaurant size. Initially Joe Sr. said, “No, I like my little thing here.” Joe Jr. replied, “Dad, you’ve only got seating for 12 people.” “That’s fine,” his father replied. “‘Dad, I’ll take care of it, I’ll do all the work.’ That’s when we became partners,” said Joe Jr. “I was in my mid-20s, and already working there full time. It was a fun job, so I thought, ‘Why not?’”
In 1987 Joe Jr. took over the deli and renamed it “Generous Joe’s,” aiming for a name with more personality than “Greenbelt Carry-Out.” Everybody already called it Joe’s, and “Generous” referred to the sandwich sizes. It also described its heart, as described in last week’s article.
Joe Jr. told the News Review the deli supported his family and while it was a lot of work it was also fun – the most enjoyable part were the customers. He said he knew customers by their first names and faces, and what they ordered. “But especially, it’s being there so long you get to know people for decades, and their kids, and once a while, grandkids, come in. So it’s just the sense of community, a big thing in Greenbelt.”
Joe Jr. Retires
“It seems like the right time now [to retire],” said Joe Jr., “I’ve been thinking about it for a while.” He’s told the News Review he’s excited about returning to biking and hiking, time with his family, visiting his mother daily, his wine club and about 112 house projects. He planned a bike trip with friends along the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland for this month. He also plans to seek some kind of volunteer work with the public.
Brian Sutherland worked at Joe’s for 25 years. He’d been working at Famished Fannie’s in College Park and when it closed in 1998 Joe Jr. hired him on the spot. Sutherland said retirement will be healthy for Joe, and that the transition is a good thing.
Joe Jr. and his photographer wife Sharon agree he looks forward to watching the Labor Day Parade, which he hasn’t seen since he was a kid. “I almost never saw the Labor Day Parade, because I always worked, and right after the parade, it was really busy.”