La Bella Napoli: Pizzeria: A Heights Tradition since 1958

“When the former owner wanted to sell La Bella Napoli, we jumped at the chance to own the business,” explained Leela Arroyo. “I had worked with him and thought that we could improve the business. When my husband and I took over the business and started to make changes, a lot of the customers did not know that we were the new owners. When we put the sign up ‘Under New Management’ and painted the windows with vibrant pictures, customers became curious. We do our best to have people come back.”

Leela and Sam Arroyo are the new owners of La BellamNapoli pizzeria, a Hasbrouck Heights tradition since 1958.  Sam was raised in Newark and a BarringermAlumnus and Leela was raised in Lodi and the family now resides in Lodi. The couple lives with their children, Cole, Luis and Faith, all whom are active in the Lodi schools.

“I started my career in the pizza business in 1997 when I started working at the Coliseum Pizzeria in Teaneck. I met Sam when we were both working together at Bye Bye Baby and recommended that he work with me at the pizzeria. Sam started working there in 2001. I started working at the counter, slowly learning the business and Sam started as a deliveryman and then worked his way to making pizzas. We learned a lot from the Coliseum and we were both lucky. The owners were our mentors.”

“When we bought the business, we knew that we wanted to put our own stamp on the business,” Leela said. “Our pizza has gotten a lot of compliments. People have commented that they like our thin-crusted New York style pizza. They have said many of the pizzas that they have eaten are doughy.”

The Arroyo’s menu is extensive with many different options. The Pizza selection includes designing your own pizza, both large and small, with a selection of toppings. Pizzas are topped with a flavorful homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and a generous portion of toppings that fill the entire pizza. “Some of our most popular pizzas include the Sicilian, The Combo with bell peppers, mushrooms, sausage, onions and pepperoni, The Fiesta Pie with ground beef, diced tomatoes and onions, lettuce, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, tortilla chips and a spicy sauce. The Munchie Pie has been hugely successful with the kids and that is topped with chicken fingers, French fries and mozzarella sticks. Our Penne Vodka Pie is gaining in popularity and it’s topped with Penne and homemade vodka sauce and our white pie is popular topped with mozzarella, ricotta and parmesan cheese with fresh parsley.”

“Our empanadas are made to order and are accompanied with a hot sauce,” Leela continued. The empanadas are filled with a generous portion of filling and fried to order. When you bit into them, the flavorful filling squirts out to mix with the hot sauce. Gaining in popularity too is the fried dough appetizer topped with tomato sauce, nutella or powdered sugar. “We are also working on expanding our dessert menu and will be adding more in the future.” One of the most popular dessert selections are the fresh zeppoles fried to order and filled with cannoli cream, peanut butter & jelly or nutella. A perfect dessert on a cold night.

“We offer a lot of specials that have become very popular,” Leela said. On Monday and Tuesday nights, La Bella Napoli offers a large cheese pizza (toppings additional) for $7.99 and reasonable Family specials that include an offer with a large cheese pizza, 10 wings, a small tossed salad and a 2 liter bottle of soda for $19.95, a large cheese pizza, small baked ziti, large tossed salad, garlic knots and a 2 liter soda for $24.95 and a large specialty pie, Italian hero or Chicken Parm hero, mozzarella or zucchini and 2 liter soda for $29.95. On Wednesdays, a small cheese pizza for $5.00. Prices are subject to change.

Rounding off the menu is an extensive list of heroes; Panini’s and wraps salads and soups. “We have also noticed a big increase in our hamburger business,” Leela noted. “It has been a real surprise but we go through a lot of hamburgers every week.”

The Arroyo’s have also created a very inviting storefront for dining in. “We cater to so many different types of customers from families who just want to relax to tourists coming off the bus waiting for their shuttle back to the hotel. We call a lot of cabs at night and offer shelter to a lot of foreign clientele, who are happy that we help them and then come back to join us for dinner,” Leela said.

The store is stocked with all sorts of board games and books to read plus a large screen TV that promotes family programming. With a small storefront, you can also engage with the owners in the downtimes or if you’re lucky be hosted by their charming daughter, Faith, who likes to engage with the customers. It is a very welcoming and warm environment for families.

“We are trying to bring back our traditional customers that made La Bella Napoli so popular in the past and want to welcome new customers who like a nice meal in a friendly environment,” Leela said with a smile. “We have been such a part of the community for years and we want to welcome new patrons who want to enjoy a good meal at a reasonable price.”

La Bella Napoli
205 Williams Avenue
Hasbrouck Heights, NJ  07604
201-288-8855
201-288-0359