Irvington Pizzeria Saved—Just in the 'Nick' of Time

When longtime Irvington resident Nick Marinis walked into the recently-closed Irvington Pizzeria on Oct. 27, he had no intention of buying the shop.

"It was a total coincidence," said the former owner of Tony's Pizzeria in Tarrytown. "It happened that I went to check out the shop on the same day it was being auctioned. They were ushering everyone in and they closed the door behind me."

When representatives from the asked for bids on the entire establishment—pizza trays, rolling pins and all—nobody bid.

"I thought, 'What the heck?' so I put in a low bid," Marinis said.

But his 'low bid' held, and Marinis found himself the proud owner of another pizza shop.

"At my age, I never would have opened another pizzeria, but this one was already here. It has all the equipment; it's in a great location—I see it as an opportunity," he said.

Since Tony's closed in 2003, Marinis has worked in sales and spent some time working at a friend's private carting company in Manhattan.

But his mind's always been on the pizza—

"My favorite pizza to make is a sauteed portobello mushroom pie with Gorgonzola cheese," he said. "But everyone else's favorite is the chicken supreme."

Other pies include: white, salad, pepperoni and fresh.

And, yes, you may have noticed 'Marinis' is not an Italian name.

"I'll have some Greek specialties on the menu as well," he said. "I make a fantastic Greek Salad—actually three different varieties of Greek Salad."

All pizza will be available by the slice and delivery is free on orders that cost more than $10.

The shop is scheduled to be inspected by the health department on Wednesday and the village's building department on Thursday.

"If all goes well, we'll open by mid-week next week," Marinis said.

Though late in his career—his four sons have long since graduated from and he's a grandfather of two—Marinis still keeps his father's motto close to his heart.

"He would always say, 'I would never sell anything that didn't appeal to me to eat,'" Marinis said. "That's the way I run a restaurant as well."

Nick's Pizzeria and Restaurant is located at 106 Main Street in Irvington.