03/10/2026
I have spent almost ten thousand evenings of my life working in restaurants, and I can honesty tell you that few have passed without some incident. For decades, s**t happened, and I always would think to myself, “God, I should write this stuff down—another story for the book.” Well, it happened. I wrote it all down and published RUNNING THROUGH THE SWINGING DOORS. For a year, the first hour or two of my mornings were spent with my cup of coffee, my dog snoring at my feet, and my computer monitor. I dove into the world of restaurant madness with an insider’s perspective from both sides of the swinging kitchen doors. The storytelling narrative is a no-BS exposé of the business—an insightful behind-the-scenes journey into the joys and the catastrophes, the fast-paced chaos of day-to-day madness, the barrage of social media censure, and the psyche of waiters and the sweating culinarians who push through night after night trying to make thousands of strangers happy. Told with honesty and grit, it is humorous, scandalous, and deliciously cynical—you’ll never experience a restaurant in quite the same way!
Running Through the Swinging Doors – Adventures & Sordid Tales from Life in the Restaurant Biz, Tony Di Lembo. Winner IPPY Writing Award 2024 Best Humorous Book. Available on Amazon.
