Lima's oldest pizza restaurant is paying respects to the man who started it all.
Tom Askins, the original founder of TJ's Pizza, passed away on Monday.
First founded in June of 1968, TJ's Pizza has been feeding the Lima area for over 50 years. At one point TJ's Pizza had six Lima locations, but as Tom's family grew, the number of locations went down. Today, TJ's Pizza is home to one location on Baty Road, and John's son plans to carry his father's torch and feed future generations for many years to come.
"We have a lot of loyal customers that have been coming here over the years. And I know one of the things that my father always enjoyed was making the customers laugh and smile as they came in to get a pizza, so I hope to carry on that tradition, so I really look forward to it," said John Askins, owner.
"If he were here right now, he'd have a whole lot more to say, I'm sure. And I think the other thing that he would want to say is that he would want to thank the community for being such a great supporter of TJ's, for being part of our extended family," said Marilyn Askins, Tom's wife.
Tom was also very active in the Lima community, serving as president of the Elida Lions Club, as well as the president of the Humane Society for over a decade.
