When Good Things Happen To Good People

At 23 years of age, most guys are out drinking, partying and carousing. Not John Diluna.

After years of working weekends and evenings in his uncle’s pizza shop, that’s the age that Diluna opened the first Pizza 2000 restaurant here in Harrison.

The original store was small and right across the street from where the restaurant is now located on Halstead Avenue.

There were lots of doubters that a 23-year-old would have what it takes to make a go of any business, let alone a restaurant that required 24/7 attention.

“My uncle who I worked for, said I wouldn’t be able to do it,” Diluna said.

Both Diluna and his father were believers though and, with his dad’s financial backing, Diluna opened Pizza 2000 and put himself to work.

And work he did.

“I paid my dad back every cent in eight months,” Diluna said.

Diluna went through five lean years getting his foot in the door and building up local clientele, and then several years ago, was doing well enough to get bank backing for the over million and a half dollars he invested in the land and building on the site that currently houses the expanded Pizza 2000.

The new restaurant was a family project. Diluna’s wife designed the finishes and interior and his father-in-law was the builder.

The expanded site boasted a huge amount of seating, large windows to provide great light and ambiance for both the lunch and dinner crowds and a party room in the back.

Above the restaurant, Diluna built six two-bedroom apartments that are fully leased to Manhattan based corporate rentals. Below the restaurant is a parking garage for all his tenants.

Not bad for a young guy who everyone but immediate family thought would never make it.

Diluna attributes his business success to spending time getting to know his customers and what they want, while providing excellent, consistent, quality food at reasonable prices.

He introduces himself to every new customer and calls customers personally if he feels delivery has been slower than he would like it to be on a busy night. He works seven days a week and prides himself on getting to know his customers on a personal level.

That combination has brought him high-level success even at a time when many businesses are hurting.And Diluna is now spreading that business success around our community.

I came in contact with Diluna last year when asking downtown merchants for donations for the Christmas Project. While many merchants generously contributed a gift certificate for a meal or service, Diluna took the time to listen to the details of what the project was about. When he heard there were families in Harrison who didn’t have  food he immediately offered to feed them all. In just a few minutes he had volunteered gift certificates for all seventy-eight families in the project.

Since then, each time I write a column about a charitable project or community sponsorship program, Diluna’s name comes up again and again as a major player.

In fact, Pizza 2000 sponsors Harrison’s Little League teams as well as the High School baseball, soccer, and volleyball teams.

Diluna supports the Harrison high school cheerleaders and the music department as well.

He participates in a program with the Harrison library where every child who finishes a book gets a free slice and soda.

Diluna provides the holiday meal for the patients and staff of a local hospital every year.

In addition, Diluna has signed on to be an annual supporter of the Christmas Project and expanded his contribution to include free delivery after he noticed some recipients were embarrassed when presenting the charitable certificates in person.

And if you don’t believe in the old saying ‘you reap what you sow’ just walk into Pizza 2000 and see how busy they are at lunch time throughout the week or for dinner on weekends. The place is jammed with every mom and dad of the teams he supports, library staff, the hospital staff, and Christmas project volunteers.

It’s a case of doing good bringing in more business, that allows him in turn to do more good for the community – a wonderful self perpetuating good deed being paid forward time and time again.

So where am I going anytime I want pizza? 

Pizza 2000 of course. How could I go anywhere else?