Lucatelli's Reopens In Doylestown Following Expansion, Renovation

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Lucatelli’s Pizzeria is back and better than ever.

The popular pizzeria reopened on Friday at the Mercer Square Shopping Center following a three week expansion and renovation project.

"We are open," the pizzeria posted on Friday. "We’re officially back and ready to serve up all your favorites. Stop in and see the new Lucatelli’s."

The renovation and expansion project saw the addition of 1200 square feet to the restaurant with its expansion into a neighboring store front, the former location of Weight Watchers.

The renovation work included enlarging the kitchen to include a prep kitchen and a new 32 pie oven. The dining room was also expanded to include 60 seats.

According to owner Dave Schiano, it was a visit by noted pizza enthusiast Dave Portnoy last fall that underscored his need for more space.

"We were doing really well and steadily growing. Once Portnoy came in, he really put us on the map," said Schiano. "It made me realize that we needed to expand. It's been rough (working in the tight quarters) but I'm so grateful for my employees who fought through it. With this expansion, we're building the right operation for the demand."

Portnoy's "one bite" video pizza reviews, which are sent out to 2.9 million Twitter followers and another four million on Instagram, have been known to make or break local pizzerias. In Lucatelli's case, it was good news. He gave the pizzeria a 7.8.

(Jeff Werner/Patch)

In the weeks and months following his review, the already popular local pizzeria was swamped with customers, which exasperated the space challenge, said Schiano. A few times they ran out of pizza dough due to the high demand and there were also some long wait times.

Lucatelli's is known locally for having some of the best quality pizza and hot sandwiches around.

Schiano, who has been making pizza since he was 11, uses family recipes from Italy to bring fresh and delicious pizza, stromboli, hot sandwiches and his Central Bucks customers.

Schiano began making pizza at his dad's Maple Glen Pizza restaurant in nearby Montgomery County. That's where he learned the pizza trade.

He opened his first pizza place, also named Lucatelli's, in Philadelphia. That dream ended abruptly when he was put out of business by COVID-19.

That dashed dream ended up being a blessing, leading him to Doylestown and to open up a new Lucatelli's at the former Il Melograno Ristorante at Mercer Square where he has perfected his recipes and is now delivering the freshest, highest quality food to his customers.

"I am so grateful for Doylestown. I love this area. I love my customers," said Schiano. "Honestly, I've had the best staff I've ever had from the back kitchen to the front counter. My help has been a big part of this growth. My customers have been a big part of this growth. It's everyone playing a part in the story of Lucatelli's."