Generoso’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe and Espresso Bar set to open in Coral Springs
A conversation at the Coral Springs barbershop where Tony Generoso gets his hair cut led to Generoso and his wife opening their new sandwich and espresso shop a few doors down less than a year later.
Tony and Lauren Generoso, a husband-and-wife team from New York City, are the minds behind Generoso’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe and Espresso Bar, which is celebrating its grand opening Friday, Oct. 3.
Tony Generoso grew up in the business with his family’s restaurants and cafe ventures, and Lauren Generoso is a trained pastry chef. The food industry brought the couple together, then they moved down to Florida about 10 years ago and settled in Heron Bay.
“I always said to my wife, ‘Hun, between your talents and my talents, the neighborhood really needs some authentic Italian sandwich shop, coffee,’ you know, something I couldn’t get here in Florida,” Tony Generoso told the Coral Springs News on Oct. 1.
He said about eight months ago, he was at his barbershop a few doors down from what would become his new business and asked the shop’s owner what was happening with the old Subway there.
When he learned it was shutting down, he asked for the landlord’s number, secured the lease, and now they’re ready to open at 6230 Coral Ridge Dr. Suite 106.
Both of his parents were at the eatery Oct. 1 as the restaurant began its soft launch. He emphasized it’s “a family-owned business,” with his mom making the pickled peppers, sauces, antipasti and macaroni salads.
“Nothing’s going to be that manufactured, just make it to sell it,” he said. “You know, each sandwich has a meaning to it — where we grew up, our favorite spots in Brooklyn and Queens.”
The couple’s New York beginnings and combined decades in the culinary field will influence the menu, which is set to include over three dozen sandwich options such as The Godfather, Staten Italy, Fuhgeddaboudit and others, made with imported meats and cheeses.
The restaurant will also serve espresso and specialty coffee, homemade pastries by Lauren Generoso, and other New York favorites like a bacon, egg and cheese on a roll.
According to the restaurant’s social media, Lauren Generoso trained at the French Culinary Institute and was mentored by Jaques Torres, the Dean of Pastry Arts better known as “Mr. Chocolate,” and Ron Ben-Israel, known for his wedding and special occasion cakes and appearances on baking competition shows.
Lauren Generoso will bring her pastry skills to the new restaurant, as well as her talent for creating both traditional and whimsical charcuterie boards, according to her Instagram.
Her husband said she won’t have a set dessert or pastry menu but will make the couple’s favorites, and whatever she feels like.
“Everything here is what I would give to my family, what I would eat, and if it’s not something that I would give to my friends and family or myself, I wouldn’t sell it,” Generoso said.
A portion of the proceeds from the grand opening will be donated to Make Our Schools Safe, a national nonprofit dedicated to reducing school violence in the wake of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting in 2018.
Generoso’s Italian Sandwich Shoppe and Espresso Bar opens Friday, Oct. 3, at 10:30 a.m.
This story was originally published October 1, 2025 at 6:18 PM.
