Pizzarama in New London marks half century

New London - Paul and Bill Anastasiou had never seen a pizza pie when they arrived in New London in 1966 from the small village of Ktismata Neochori, in the northern province of Pogoni, Greece.

The brothers, who were 14 and 8 at the time, wandered the neighborhood on Rogers Street where they were staying and discovered Central Pizza on Jefferson Avenue.

"We didn't know what a pizza house was,'' said Bill. "We never heard about pizza in Greece.''

Today, the brothers, now 58 and 53, have spent most of their adult lives making pizza at Pizzarama Drive-In at 625 Broad St. The month of February is the 50th anniversary of the restaurant and the 30th anniversary of their ownership.

New and longtime customers are being offered specials all month as a thanks for their loyalty.

The brothers sat down in one of the window seats at the Broad Street restaurant recently to reminisce about the early years. They both speak with a slight accent and lapse into a hybrid of Greek and English when talking to each other, or on the telephone with their mother to double check a date or verify the spelling of their Greek homeland.

They began working at the restaurant in the 1970s, when their parents, Chris and Sofia Anastasiou, worked there. Their father had bought it from the original owner, George Dallas, who opened the business in 1962. The brothers bought the business in 1982.

"We worked 24-7,'' said Paul. And everyone worked: sons, daughters, aunts, uncles and cousins.

They make dough fresh three times a day and Monday is still the day they make meatballs, using a recipe from their father, who was a cook in the "old country."

Their father, who worked in the restaurant for 50 years, retired last year.

"He was the back and soul of this business,'' Paul said.

Although the brothers have expanded the dining room, and the menu, adding calzones, lasagna and white pizzas, the inside of the restaurant looks much as it did in the 1970s. There are neon signs, dark wood paneling and window booths with red vinyl seats.

When they took over three decades ago, the one-page menu featured pizza and grinders and three salads: tossed green, Greek and antipasto. A small plain pizza was $2.40 and a large Genoa salami grinder was $2.70.

The brothers admit that surviving for decades in the business has had its ups and downs. When they started, there were probably three pizza places in the city.

Today, including the big chain restaurants, there are probably 30 places to get pizza, they said. But loyal Pizzarama customers have kept the Broad Street establishment thriving.

"Our quality has been consistent,'' said Bill. "And we cater to our customers."

k.edgecomb@theday.com