"It has always been my dream to expand," said Thomas Stephanian, owner of Tommy's Lunch, as he sat at the counter and puffed on his cigar, "and now I'm finally going to get this opportunity."

After almost 14 years in one small building with only two tables at 49 Mt. Auburn Street, Tommy's Lunch is expanding to the building next door where the Harvard Laundromat used to be.

"When I first came here, back in February of '58,' Stephanian reminisced, "Quincy House wasn't here, or Leverett Towers, or even Peabody Terrace. Now, with more and more traflie, and more and more people, we have to be more efficient."

More Seats

The former Laundromat will be the kitchen area with a bigger grill "to handle things a lot faster," while the rest of the area will provide a greater seating capacity.

According to Stephanian, prices at Tommy's are likely to go up somewhat, but he explains. "Our prices haven't gone up in a long time, and now prices are going up for everything."

Stephanian said the quality of the food at Tommy's Lunch will not change. "Our cheese-steak specials will be as good as ever." he explained, although there are "a lot of surprises" in store, such as Armenian nights with stuffed grape leaves and other specially prepared dishes.

But until mid-June or early July when Stephanian is planning a grand opening, the Cambridge community can only guess at what the other surprises will be.