Friends Merchant Series - Heights Pizzeria Serves Great Food With a Smile

The Friends of the Library showcase another participating business in their Merchants program. These businesses offer discounts to members of the Friends of the Library.

This week the Friends talk to Celestino Gencarelli of Hasbrouck Heights Pizza.

“I have been in the business of making pizza all of my life,” says Heights Pizzeria owner Celestino Gencarelli, “I grew up in my relatives businesses in Paterson and was working in their bakeries and pizzerias at a young age. This is how I learned the business.”

Celestino moved with his family from Calabria, Italy in 1970 and settled in Paterson, where many of his relatives were living. “My family moved here for better opportunities and they ended up owning their own businesses. After working for them, at age 10, I opened my first pizzeria in Paterson. At the same time, my brother opened his business in Fair Lawn and it became a family affair."

Celestino lives in Hawthorne with his wife, Shirley and their daughter, Gianna.

“I had moved to California on the advice of a grammar school friend of mine because he felt there was no place to get good pizza, so I stayed on the West Coast and opened several businesses in Northern California. When I came home for a visit, someone introduced me to my future wife and I moved back East. I still have my businesses in California as well.”

When Celestino opened his business in Paterson, he was joined by his brother in law, John, who helped build the business. They both still work together in the Hasbrouck Heights pizzeria, with his brother in law making all the entrees for the restaurant.

“You may never see my brother in law, but many people know John’s cooking and come back over and over to enjoy it,” Celentino smiled.

His success in Paterson moved him around North Jersey. After selling the Paterson property three years later, he moved to Hawthorne and opened a pizzeria there and then sold that property to open a business in Bloomfield and then sold that to open a restaurant and barin another part of Bloomfield. After that, he opened a business in Edgewater before moving to California in 1993.

“What I liked about California is that there was not much competition. Most of the pizzerias were not like the ones from back East. When I opened my pizzeria’s out there, many of my customers were from the East and were like 'Thank God, there is now a decent pizzeria.' They were not used to the chain store pizza and that wasn’t what they wanted. We really gave them a quality product. Our cheese comes from Wisconsin and our tomatoes were either from California or from Italy. You can’t hide the fact that good ingredients make a difference."

"It was funny that many customers requested that I put pineapple on the pizza which I had never heard of and resisted doing. I finally gave in and now put it on pizza. You have to listen to what your customers want. I have now opened my fifth restaurant in Colorado in the home of Colorado State University. There is the biggest concentration of restaurants in the country in this town and we are working hard to provide them the best food possible.”

“I now visit the West Coast businesses for two months out of the year and watch the quality control of all the restaurants. I gave the running of the restaurants to long-service employees, who now earn extra as they help grow the business. I wanted people who know the business and the way we want to have the business run. This keeps a consistent product,” Celetino said.

Some of the items that can be ordered at Heights Pizzeria are an array of toppings on a traditional neapolitan pizza, specialty pizzas with names like ‘Tony Soprano’ with red sauce, salami, fresh mushrooms and olives and ‘The Brooklyn’ with a double crust stuffed pizza with spinach, ricotta and mozzarella cheese.

Heights Pizzeria also has a Grandma Pizza that has won raves several towns away. There is also an extensive selection of chicken, veal, seafood and eggplant entrees that can be eaten in or available for take-out. There are many different hot and cold sandwiches, which are offered in 7”, 12” and 14” as well as wraps and salads. Stuffed Stromboli’s and calzones, oozing with delicious fillings, help round out the menu. If you want dessert, there is fresh cannoli and a dessert of the day.

Catering is also available and please call in advance to place your order. “We have been very successful with our catering,” said Celestino, “we were very busy during the Communion and Confirmation season and graduation time kept us going every week. It is a business that we want to keep growing." Check out the catering menu which offers an array of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees and pizzas.

When asked what made him a success in Hasbrouck Heights, Celestino said, “It is giving the customer a quality product that is consistent. We try to be involved in the community. I also try to be hands on and be available to the customers. If there is ever a problem, the customers know that they can come to me. We try to offer the best service as well and try to accommodate everyone. It gets tough when we are busy, but we do everything we can to make the customer happy. I like getting involved with our customers and getting to know them. It’s important to be nice to people. We have a lot of loyalty at Heights Pizzeria and don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

Heights Pizzeria
313 Boulevard
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
(201) 426-0226