By Michael P. Walsh
Special to the Voice
Zuppardi’s Apizza, West Haven’s first family of apizza, celebrated 90 years in business Monday with music, Italian ice and pizza, of course.
Mayor Dorinda Borer joined generations of Zuppardis in the tented parking lot of the historic pizzeria at 179 Union Ave., where Borer read and presented a framed 90th anniversary proclamation to Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce and Lori Zuppardi, co-owners of Zuppardi’s, as other family members looked on.
Zuppardi’s has been serving New Haven-style apizza, pronounced “abeetz,” since 1934. The fourth-generation business is one of the oldest family-owned pizzerias in the U.S. and was featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America” in February.
The Zuppardi sisters were accompanied by hundreds of friends and supporters, including local and state officials, who turned out to pay tribute to a family that, through thick and thin, has been there for their customers, their city and their business community.
Borer, who was joined by the Zuppardi sisters for her remarks, lauded the family and its flourishing pizzeria business.
“It’s more than just about pizza; it’s the memories you’ve created,” said Borer, who called the sisters “two very strong businesswomen.” “You’re part of the fabric that’s woven into our community.”
The mayor continued: “Zuppardi’s Apizza is an institution of West Haven and a cornerstone of the Union Avenue neighborhood. With the Zuppardi family growing and the business thriving, both in West Haven and other locations, Zuppardi’s continues to lead our city and its business community toward a brighter future.”
New Haven-style pizza historian Colin Caplan, the principal of the food tour company Taste of New Haven, served as the event’s master of ceremonies, and the Rev. Jose A. Mercado, the pastor of St. John Vianney Church in West Haven, gave an Italian blessing.
“You’re the most beautiful women in pizza I know,” said Caplan, referring to the Zuppardi sisters.
State Office of Tourism Brand Director Ellen Woolf spoke about the nationally known Zuppardi’s brand.
In addition to its flagship location in West Haven, the Zuppardi family operates a frozen pizza business that distributes to large retailers and ships across the country. The Zuppardi’s pizza truck and mobile business has been catering Connecticut pizza connoisseurs for nearly 10 years.
The family also operates satellite locations, including a takeout space in Ansonia.
Along with Borer, among the dignitaries marking the milestone and speaking at the four-hour celebration were state Sen. James Maroney, D-Milford, and state Rep. Bill Heffernan, D-West Haven, who presented the Zuppardi family with a General Assembly citation on behalf of West Haven’s delegation.
The family also received a citation from Heffernan on behalf of Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and certificates of special recognition from aides representing U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3.
Also in attendance were Orange First Selectman James M. Zeoli and North Haven First Selectman Michael J. Freda, a native of West Haven.
Reading the city’s proclamation, Borer chronicled the story of the famed pizzeria: “Zuppardi’s time-honored recipe of Neapolitan-style abeetz traces its roots to the town of Maiori on the Amalfi Coast of southern Italy, where founder Dominic Zuppardi honed his trade as a master bread baker in the early 1920s. After coming to America in 1924 and working as an in-demand baker of artisan Italian breads and abeetz in New Haven, he opened Salerno’s Bakery on Donnelly Place in 1932. Two years later, Dominic moved his business to Union Avenue in West Haven. His son, Anthony, followed in his footsteps, taking over Salerno’s in the late 1940s, expanding the menu of the bakery’s already-popular pizza to feature his homemade Italian fennel sausage, and propelling the business, officially renamed Zuppardi’s Apizza in 1947, to new heights.
“Since 1934, every Zuppardi’s pizza pie has been handmade and cooked to perfection in its seasoned brick oven — just like Dominic and Anthony used to make.”
The Zuppardi sisters, in their remarks, thanked their many loyal customers and praised their many hardworking employees for carrying on the Zuppardi legacy.
As the sisters introduced their children one by one and shared their integral roles in the family business, employees served hungry guests three kinds of pizza slices — mozzarella, tomato sauce with grated Pecorino Romano cheese and fennel sausage — from the Zuppardi’s pizza truck and its offspring, the pizza trailer.
Other employees sold 90th anniversary T-shirts for $10, with all proceeds benefiting the Closer to Free Fund for Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven Hospital.
Cheryl Zuppardi Pearce’s oldest son, Craig Pearce Jr., is a manager at Zuppardi’s in West Haven; her daughter, Cheri Pearce, is an instrumental part of the frozen food business; and her son, Anthony Pearce, is a co-owner of Zuppardi’s in West Haven.
Lori Zuppardi’s daughter, Brittany Ormrod, is a co-owner of Zuppardi’s in West Haven. Her son, Jimmy Ormrod, owns the Zuppardi’s pizza truck and trailer, Zuppardi’s at The Hops Co. in Derby and Zuppardi’s Slice Shop in Ansonia.
The speaking portion of the event culminated with the introduction of the Zuppardi family’s fifth generation amid a burst of confetti and a round of applause.