If the Neighbors Like It, It’s Gotta Be Good

Have you ever had one of those moments where you see someone start to devour an “attractive,” delicious looking sandwich, and then yearn to have your own?

“Mr. Sears, would you like a piece of my sandwich?” asks Skip Storch, owner of Nanuet’s Shu-Fly Tackle & Fly shop during a break in our interview.

“No, that’s okay. Where did you get it?”

“Cacciatori–it’s right down the road on the other side of (Route) 59. It’s pretty good. Hey,” he said to his store manager, Artan Hasanaj, “show Mr. Sears the menu.”

Ernesto Juarez has owned Cacciatori Pizza in Nanuet for 5 years, and there is now a second location in Garnerville.

“We got lots of people coming here from North Rockland,” claimed the El Salvador-born Suarez, explaining why a second location was needed north of Nanuet. “People knew me from here.” He then looked around at his North Route 33 pizzeria. “This place was already set; we just had to do some work.”

Juarez is no stranger to the Italian eatery business, nor to Cacciatori itself prior to owning it. In 1993, upon his arrival in America, he worked in an Italian restaurant in Mahopac.

“I was in the kitchen, making sauce, for almost 13 years. Then I went to a different place.”

That “different place” was Cacciatori. Two brothers owned it back in 2005, the ownership parted ways, and the lone owner—moving to Delaware—called Juarez and offered it to him. “He told me,” Juarez recalled with a grin, “it was a good opportunity.”

It has been.

“Some of the stuff that I’ve learned is that we have great customers.” And the customers know good stuff.

“We get lots of compliments. Lots of people ask how we make a particular dish. Some customers order sandwiches, some order salads, many order the same thing all the time. Sometimes I ask, ‘Don’t you get tired of this?” he laughed.

It’s hard NOT to order a favorite here. Cacciatori is home of the famous Grandma’s Pizza which, according to Juarez, “I make my own recipe (for).” Other big sellers are the Italian combo cold hero of ham, pepperoni, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato, eggplant, onions, roasted red pepper with oil and vinegar, and a superb Chicken Scarpariello (I tried it; it’s very good) with sliced Italian sausage, potatoes and cherry peppers in a brown sauce. The entire menu can be viewed on the website, www.cacciatoripizza.com.

Cacciatori is also very community oriented.

“We donate to all the schools in Nanuet. We give to the high schools, as well as the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association). When we do that, we feel great. I’ve often heard that people try the food and ask, ‘Where did you get this from?”

Dave Bohlander is the counterman.

“The customers are great," said Bohlander. "We’re here for the customers. I like them all.”

Roberto Linares makes the Grandma’s Pizza and more, and Kenny Ariza prepares the entrees in the kitchen.

And in addition to great customer service, Ernesto Juarez reflects further on why Cacciatori Pizza “works.”

“Is this a good location? Yes. I say ‘yes,” but you have to serve good stuff, too. If not, you’re not coming back.”

“The key is what you serve and to be friendly.”

30 N. Middletwon Road, Nanuet, 845-623-5001

144 Ramapo Road, Garnerville, 845-947-2266 (2277)

www.cacciatoripizza.com