Ciao Vittorio....Sono Capone "Tony" Antonio,fù Salvatore....Fiero Montedrese Nato a garzano Fratello a Santo Rosario dal 1968..ti invio un articolo che parla della mia attività , ed alcune foto....Bambi Kohler: A part of hometown life, any way you slice it By Katie Bambi Kohler, The Times Herald
There are certain types of places that become pulses of a town. A spot that all the locals know about.
A corner bar where everybody knows your name. The bowling alley where you end up at midnight or after prom. The local pizzeria.
When I was growing up in Norristown, on Friday nights my parents ordered pizza from Via Veneto’s. When I got older, while waiting for a table at a restaurant, I turned to my date and said, “Want to just go grab a slice of at Via’s?” He agreed and we sat in those orange booths having a better time than we would have at Chez Reservation.
Times change, boyfriends change, and locations change. My love for a good slice in a local pizza shop didn’t. So when I moved to King of Prussia with my boyfriend, now husband, Tom, I not only needed to turn his parents’ home that we purchased in to our own, I needed to get accustomed to my new town.
Since we were early-20-something, poor homeowners, we ate a lot of pizza. I was still very loyal to Via’s and my parents’ pantry.
Tom was sustaining on a regular meal of “one, one and one.” I wasn’t sure what he meant until he told me about his standard order at Angelo’s Pizza.
“
One slice, order of fries and a coke,” he said flashing his smile that melts me. “It’s delicious. Been eating there since I was a kid.”
Admittedly, my own Italian background, and Tom’s lack of one, made me a bit skeptical. What does this guy know?
On our first and each following visit to Angelo’s on Beidler Road, we were greeted with a hello of “Tommy!” from owner Tony Capone.
The pizza?
Hot, fresh, baked perfectly. Tom was right. It was delicious.
I soon discovered that Capone shared a similar story to that of my great-great-grandparents, who came to America from Sciacca, Italy.
Capone and his family arrived from Montella on the Michelangelo in 1971 when he was 12 years old. He arrived at a port in New York and remembers his parents making sure he saw the Statue of Liberty on a cold, March morning.
“My uncle had a station wagon. I never saw a car that big before. I was in the back. It looked like it never ended. I saw the roads and it was mind-boggling,“ said Capone.
He started working at the strip mall pizzeria while attending Upper Merion High School and graduating in ’76. By 1982 he was a full-time employee. Four years later, owner Ciro DiDonna asked Capone to be his partner. After DiDonna’s death in ’95, Capone took over.
“He taught me everything from slicing tomatoes to pizza making. He never changed the recipes and I never did. We still use the same brand of cheese,” said Capone.
Many family members chip in to help. While I was speaking to Capone his sister Carmella buzzed about the spotless store with a rag wiping down surfaces. Online reviews and customers mention Capone’s hospitality before they mention the crave-worthy New York-style pizza. “Tommy!” isn’t the only one getting a personal greeting and he isn’t the only one who has been frequenting the shop since he was a kid.
“I don’t know the word or words for it. The grandchildren of customers are coming in now,” said Capone of witnessing the growth of families. “It makes you feel so good. When kids go to college and when they come for Thanksgiving, the first stop is here, then home. It never fails. You gotta fill in the words for me because I don’t have it. It’s really good. It is.”
Angelo’s gained recognition for more than their plain and pepperoni. Philadelphia Magazine named its “Super Steak” Best Cheesesteak in 2008.
“I work the way I live. This is the only way I know. I treat people the way I want to be treated. My mom and dad said treat ’em how you want to be treated and things will work out okay for you. So far, so good. Service is very important to me,” said Capone.
Any local pizzeria that serves as a pulse of its town weaves its way into the residents’ lives. I notice boxes of Angelo’s pizza at local events, their ad in sports and school programs along with their involvement in other church and community activities. It’s a part of life in King of Prussia that is much more than just a retail chain store kingdom.
“America took me in,” said Capone of his charitable contributions. “Anything I can do I always will. The lifelong customers, we become friends.”
Capone’s big smile, Italian accent and welcoming demeanor make me feel like I am in one of my own relative’s homes. Especially when he ends some of his sentences with “you know” a common figure of speech in an Italian’s fast-talking hands moving style.
“I live here, I work here, I shop here, I send my kids to school here. This is my home,” said Capone of Upper Merion. “I belong here, you know.”
Me too, you know.
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