Pizza Today - July 2020 - 10

C O N V E R S AT I O N

ANTHONY
DESOUSA
Antonio's Real NY Pizza
Estes Park, Colorado

Concept:

In a nutshell, Antonio's Real NY Pizza
is a full-service pizzeria in Colorado,
in a little town called Estes Park. Our
store sits in the shadows of Rocky
Mountain National Park's 14,000foot mountains. We offer takeout,
dine-in and pickup. We do not deliver,
nor do we utilize third-party services.

Pizza Style:

Our style is based wholly on the food
I grew up eating: Italian food in a
very Italian family. The pizza we make
today is similar to what you would find
from Elmont to Amityville on Long
Island's south shore and Brooklyn,
where my great grandfather's 13th
Ave. brownstone still has family
in it. These places influenced my
taste profile immensely and as was
explained to me as I endeavored to
learn everything about pizza - your
mind has a mental image and taste
burned into it from your experiences.
When something hits the mark, it's a
moving feeling and I can attest to it.
We specialize in Sicilian, thick-crust
pizza, the kind I enjoyed at Mama's in
Copiague where Tommy, the owner,
gave me tips like Mr. Miyagi did
for the Karate Kid so I could make
pizza at home to satisfy our family's
cravings. Gino's and King Umberto's
in Elmont, NY also factor into the
mental image our pies are modeled
after. My grandma absolutely loved
Gino's Grandma pie and it's the
last meal we ate together. When I
released the Grandma pie, it had to
be at that level or it was unacceptable.
Today, it's one of our best-selling pies
because of the love and history.

How were you able to pivot
during the COVID-19 crisis
and as we begin to transition
again?
The COVID-19 virus was
something Tracey, my wife
and I watching intently since
she is a board-certified RN
and has a great understanding
of community spread that we
now all understand. The last
day of dining room service was
3-16-20 in our store and for
weeks prior we seated every
other table just to be safe.
Our dining room seats 160
so it was a tremendous hit to
close it, but we innovated the
"zero contact pickup" whereby
we only accept online or
phone orders which are paid
in advance via credit card. This
was another hit but necessary
to keep us safe. No customers
have been inside our building

since that day. In addition,
we established the Friends of
Antonio table in front of our
building where people could
take loaves of bread, flour, rice,
yeast and fruit, etc., if they
couldn't afford it. We made
literally thousands of loaves
of bread and the community
supported our efforts with
donations of $1 to $1000! It
has been wonderful to take
care of those in need.
Our next move involves
using the parking lot and
outdoor spaces to allow large
distances between the people
once the word is given to open
restaurants again. We will
literally have porta potties in
the lot, too so no one has to
come in the building. Outdoor
kiosks and online ordering
will also help us to have the
appropriate distance between
people.

Worth noting: During this
entire time, we did not lay off,
furlough or fire a single person
and fed the staff continuously.
This innate desire to feed my
people is definitely an Italian
trait as my great grandmother
Anna fed everyone during the
depression.
What's next for your
pizzeria after COVID-19?
My belief is that COVID-19
will force us to continually
innovate ways to live under a
new "normal". This will require
the support of our staff, the
belief in our mission along with
the cooperation from those
who visit Antonio's Pizza. I
hope our protective measures
prove valuable and are widely
adopted by the restaurant
industry.

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Pizza Today - July 2020

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