Muhammad Alhawagri was outside his yet-to-be-opened A Pizza Story restaurant Wednesday afternoon, when Eddie Pilla, who’s family owned a Maplewood pizza restaurant that closed in the mid-1970s walked by.
Pilla heard about A Pizza Story at The Maple Leaf barber and stopped to chat. His dad, also Eddie Pilla, owned Eddie’s Restaurant and Lounge in the middle of the 7300 block of Manchester Road, on the north side—the side lost to K-Mart.
“We went out of business in 1975—eminent domain,” Pilla said. “We were there 40-something years. We tried to stay in business,” he said. “The bar, the booze, everything was stored for four years, we tried to go back into business.”
He said whenever they tried to buy a building to relocate, the seller found out it was the Pillas and the price went up.
“One building we were going to sign on it, and their lawyer comes over and tells our lawyer, ‘Oh, there was a misprint.’ They raised it $25,000. They found out it was us; we had a lot of money (they thought).” The brothers finally gave up.
Pilla said the the bar was 73 1/2 feet long—the longest bar in the United States; it was L-shaped and sat 250 people. He said his dad designed the pizza oven himself. “It was all brick-lined—top, sides, doors, everything.”
He said his dad’s recipe book was beautifully hand-written in both Italian and English.
Pilla said the pizza dough was special. “My dad’s recipe, when we cooked it, it was always brown on the bottom, but still just nice and flaky. Everybody around here says give us the recipe.”
Pilla said he can’t sell or give it away because his dad’s will states the recipe has to be kept a secret. He said when he and all his siblings are gone, there’s an agreement to sell the recipe to Pillsbury.
Alhawagri is opening A Pizza Story, at 7278 Manchester Road, with Sherif Nasser. He said the doors should open in late January or early February. Their pizza will also be cooked in a wood-fired oven.
Pilla has an open invitation to come by when they open.
I used to work down the street at Seliga’s shoe store and we’d often order pizza for lunch. I remember the fennel seed which was plentiful as well as the great Italian sausage (saucita). There was an old little gal who worked there named Ruthie. And they had a steam table with lots of choices as well.
My husband and I, along with other young couples on Lyle Ave, used to go to Eddie’s and have pizza and beer. That was our entertainment in those days….we all had a lot of kids, and couldn’t afford a night out on the town….we just stayed in our own home town, and had the best pizza there was to be had. Along with talking to Eddie, and enjoying our evening. Glad to see him around. I know he still lives around here, because he lives across from my brother-in-law’s. Thanks for the interview…..
I like the story about Eddie Pilla – human interest! AZM
I’m wondering if Maplewood is actually over-sold on pizza? I wish the new business the best, but it’s just like the photography artists/studios, and the antique shops in town. It’s almost like every time there is a successful business in Maplewood, ~5 other ones pop up to compete.
Interesting history there. I’m excited for the Pizza Story to open. Between this and the new Blind Tiger, I think Maplewood is set as far as pizza is concerned.
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