Pizza-box cards express thanks to Casanos

Nat Casano had given students a cartload of pizza boxes, which they used in school projects

By John Tredrea
   Heartfelt tokens of thanks from the young have a way of making one reflect on both what’s been done and what’s still ahead.
   That’s the kind of mood Nat Casano was in recently as he looked over elaborate thank-you cards he’d received from Candice Dumont’s sixth-grade class at Timberlane Middle School.
   The cards were actually Vito’s pizza boxes, decorated with expressions of gratitude to Mr. Casano and his well-known business at 4 N. Main St. in Pennington. He’d given the students a cartload of pizza boxes, which they used in school projects.
   "YOU DA BEST!" a message from one student proclaimed in cut red paper affixed to the inside flap of a pizza box. "VITO’S: #1!" said another. A note from Ms. Dumont to Mr. Casano on one of the boxes said: "Thank you for donating pizza boxes to my students. Your contribution inspired my classes to create beautiful projects and made them proud that they were supported by many facets of the community."
   Mr. Casano said he would display the big thank-you cards in his shop. Vito’s, which opened at 4 N. Main in the late 1980s, replacing the luncheonette Bob’s Easy Street Café. Vito’s recently gained approval from the Pennington Planning Board to move to larger quarters next door at 2 N. Main. Mr. Casano, a longtime Hopewell Township resident, owns 2, 4 and 6 N. Main.
   While undertaking the ambitious project of moving Vito’s, Mr. Casano also is in the process of opening a much larger place, on Route 130 in Hamilton. Called Spigola, that Italian restaurant and bar will seat over 220 people. It’s due to open in July.
   "I haven’t started anything new in 15 years," said Mr. Casano, whose three children are all grown. He’s a grandfather, in fact. Asked why he’s taking on so much work now, he shrugged and replied with a smile: "I don’t know! I’ve been wondering about that myself. Can’t keep still, I guess."