Today we’d like to introduce you to Grandpa Pizzi’s Place.
Hello Grandpa Pizzi’s Place, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
[Karen] My grandparents, Taylor’s great-grandparents, were Tony and Mary Pizzi. We were truly blessed and often spoiled having them in our lives. My grandpa made homemade bread daily, pizzelles weekly, every Friday was pizza night, and every Sunday was spaghetti. Spaghetti Sundays included everyone…cousins and all, and we usually had about 30 people! Grandma Pizzi was a fabulous cook, also. As kids, we would be eating anything that she made faster than she could make it! The house that we currently live in was built by my grandfather, as well as the house across the street from us and many around the neighborhood.
The restaurant began as a beer garden in 1934, where Tony and Mary lived as young Italian immigrants in one of the upstairs apartments. They established Pizzi Café in 1939, which operated successfully as an Italian family restaurant known for its old-world pizza for over 85 years. When it closed, we were all heartbroken. It had been one of the oldest pizzerias in the country. They had tried briefly to sell it, but after that didn’t work out, they closed the doors, and that was the end of it. It sat untouched for nearly 5 years and finally went up for sheriff’s sale in January 2023.
I am a retired teacher and the thought of pursuing and reopening the family restaurant was pretty overwhelming, but Taylor and Alec had just moved back to Conneaut; so, the four of us decided to bid and see what would happen. We are currently working through many projects… giving the dining room a facelift, having new signage installed, and giving some much-needed TLC to a building over a century old!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
First and foremost, the four of us all have very different backgrounds – NONE of which include managing a restaurant. We have all been making pizza and pasta for years, but this is a whole new level! So, we’re definitely leaning on the guidance of others in the field, utilizing local resources, and learning as we go.
Additionally, funding! Right now, there aren’t many traditional banks, large or small, that are willing to fund anything in hospitality – especially start-ups. But there are options, and we’re exploring all of them. We were even encouraged to begin our own capital fundraising, our Circle of Crust, which has received a lot of community support. We are constantly amazed and fueled by the generosity and excitement of our hometown.
We have also had obstacles with refreshing a building of this size – outside of the dining room/kitchen area – everything needed attention, including the basement, roof, second floor, windows, and brick.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As I mentioned earlier, I am a retired schoolteacher. The last several years of my career were spent having approximately 1000 students per week, so I am well-versed in being organized and managing people! I was employed with Conneaut Area City Schools for 31 years. I have had many students reach out to me, hoping to work at the restaurant. I guess that means that I did something right!
My husband, Mark, has worked for 37 years in the insurance industry throughout Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. He works directly with individuals to address and manage their insurance needs. His role in our business will be mostly working in the kitchen, making many of the dishes that he learned from my mom (Antonette Pizzi/Perkio), my aunt (Jane Pizzi/Maukonen), and my grandmother (Mary Pizzi). We have been together since high school, so Mark knew all of the generals very well!! Mark also worked at Pizzi Café in the early 80s as a bartender and server, so he can fill many roles.
My daughter, and eventual co-owner at Grandpa’s, began helping out at a local family winery/restaurant at the age of 13. Since then, she’s always held roles that have been very service-centric. Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and Disorders, and after college, she really excelled working as a Hearing Instrument Specialist, where she tested hearing, cleaned ears, and fit hearing aids for hundreds of patients. She met her husband, Alec, while living in Minneapolis, and they probably would have stayed in or around big cities, but the pandemic really shifted a lot of their priorities and daily routines. Alec has been working in Marketing for over 10 years and has the ability to work from home, which has given the two of them a lot of flexibility and made their move to Ohio possible.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Though we didn’t experience it firsthand in our business, we saw friends of ours who own a local restaurant have to be very flexible and adaptable when it came to the Covid-19 Crisis. We know that, in the wake of the pandemic, there have been major supply chain issues, labor shortages, and record inflation for small businesses to contend with. We’re definitely fortunate that the four of us can share some of the stresses and headaches that will inevitably come our way.
Though opening a small business – especially a restaurant – is a risky endeavor, we also learned to pause and reflect on our priorities during the pandemic. The timing was truly serendipitous for the four of us to come together and establish Grandpa Pizzi’s Place, and the thought of reigniting our family legacy, preserving their memory, as well as sharing some of their most-loved recipes as a family is incredibly humbling, and our true definition of a passion project.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.GrandpaPizzisPlace.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/grandpapizzisplace
- Facebook: facebook.com/grandpapizzisplace
- Other: https://linktr.ee/grandpapizzisplace
