Local pizza parlor is a true Princeton institution
By: Diane Landis Hackett
PRINCETON It is 5:30 on a school night, and I’ve decided to boycott cooking at home and eat at Pizza Star in the Princeton Shopping Center.
My kids screech with joy when I tell them of our dinner plans. When we arrive, my youngest begs me to lift her up onto the counter, where her two older siblings have already clambered to watch owner Nino Spera twirl pizza dough in the air.
From their vantage point, they have a perfect view of the busy kitchen. Manolo is standing side by side with Nino working the dough. Moody named for his moods is cutting onions for the grill, and Laura is filling up the napkin holders.
"Hey, how you doin’, Di?" Mr. Spera says in his down-the-shore style. "Hey, Nino," I say, flattered he remembers my name.
Out of sheer habit, I order two plain and two pepperoni slices, three small cokes and a house salad with hot pepper, no onions.
My middle daughter happily digs in to what might be her 500th Pizza Star slice since birth and says, "I like to look at the chef when he is working. Once he threw the pizza up in the air and caught it on his thumb. It was cool."
Pizza Star has been an institution in Princeton for almost 30 years. It is a destination much like the television bar Cheers. There is comfort in the taste of the food and the simple surroundings, and you can always count on someone you know to be there.
"We always meet other families that we know at Pizza Star. It has a very friendly atmosphere. It’s perfect for us and our young family," says Princeton resident Jeanne Devoe, who has two elementary-age boys and eats there regularly.
With his vivacious manner and booming voice, Mr. Spera greets most everyone who walks in as if they are part of his immediate family. "I love working with the people," says Mr. Spera, who had his first job at age 14 at Pizza City on Olden Avenue in Trenton. He bought Pizza Star at age 17, and it has remained in the family ever since.
Until his death in 2001, Nino’s father ran Pizza Star. He arrived there every morning at 7 to prepare for the day. By 9 a.m., the prep work was complete, and he would sit down with his Sicilian friends to drink espresso and chat.
Now, the younger Mr. Spera arrives every morning at 10 a.m. to mix the nearly 150 pounds of dough that they will use that day. He and his manager are the only two people who know everything that goes into the dough. He lists the ingredients as yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil and secrets.
"If I tell you the secret, then the other pizza place may use it," he says. As he shows off the huge mixer where the dough is made daily, I ask how much of each ingredient he uses. He is silent for a minute and then he shrugs his shoulders.
"I have too much experience. I measure with my hands," he finally says.
While business has surely grown from $400 a day when they first opened, to double that at lunch only, the competition for business has also grown over the years.
Mr. Spera says that 2005 was a rough winter due to competition from new places at the shopping center but now that summer is here, he looks forward to increased crowds brought in by the outdoor concert series on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons, and the varied sports teams that have made Pizza Star their restaurant of choice.
After graduating from high school, Mr. Spera worked in Wildwood at Sam’s Pizza Palace, which his uncle owned. He then moved overseas to Sicily, Italy, to visit family and work in a café for what he thought would be a few months. He ended up staying two years, which is where he says he learned the business by watching the chef. He returned to the United States and went back to Wildwood to work until joining his father at Pizza Star in Princeton in 1982.
Family is an all-important concept to Mr. Spera, who refers to taking care of his employees as essential to the success of his business. He has learned Spanish so he can communicate well, and he cooks them lunch most days to make sure they have eaten. His eyes light up when he talks about cooking his favorite off-the-menu dishes, which include veal picata, chicken cacciatore, shrimp scampi and his mother’s veal stew.
In addition to the families and the businessmen, with their ties slung over their shoulder so as not to drip pizza sauce, Pizza Star is also home to a number of regulars. Most every Friday night for 20 years, a group of long-time Princeton residents and friends have gathered with their wine bottles and stories to share.
"They always tell me if they are not coming," says Mr. Spera, who waits on their table because they like a little extra service.
There is also the Community Park swim team, which has eaten at Pizza Star for 11 years. The U.S. Olympic rowers have come every Monday night for three years with children and families in tow.
Mr. Spera has even dedicated a portion of a wall to the rowers with photographs, paintings and other memorabilia. He also attends their weddings and always has a cake waiting if the team is celebrating a big win or a birthday. But he has never been able to break away from work to see a race or ride in the boat.
"Nino is into the people, he hasn’t ever seen the events," says Mr. Michael Teti, head coach for the rowers. Mr. Teti acknowledges this and adds, "If it is raining, Nino makes soup. If we want steak, he runs down to the grocery (store) and buys a steak for us."
Diane Landis Hackett’s monthly column offers a first-person take on family businesses of note in Central Jersey. To suggest a story idea, call the Business Journal at (609) 924-3244, ext. 146.