Popular Doylestown Pizzeria Closes For Renovations

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Lucatelli’s Pizzeria will be closed for the next several weeks as it expands and renovates its space at the Mercer Square Shopping Center.

“To bring you more of what you love, we’re expanding," said owner Dave Schiano in a Facebook posting and in a note posted on the front door of the eatery. "But to make this happen, we need to temporarily close our doors for a couple of weeks."

According to Schiano, the pizzeria will be adding 1,200 square feet of space by expanding into a vacant storefront next door. The renovation work will include enlarging the kitchen to include a prep kitchen and a new 32 pie oven. The dining room will also be expanded to include 60 seats.

"We're trying to get the food out faster, shorten up the wait times and make it easier for my employees to do their jobs," said Schiano.

With David Portnoy, center, are Lucatelli's owner Dave Schiano and pizzeria manager Joe Guardino. (Courtesy of Lucatelli's)

Schiano said it was a visit by noted pizza enthusiast Dave Portnoy last fall that made him realize that an expansion was needed.

"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 we can't work like this. We need to expand. It's been rough but I'm so grateful for my employees who fought through it. We're trying to build 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 know to make or break local pizzerias. In Lucatelli's case, it was good news. He gave the pizzeria a 7.8, which is on the higher side for a Portnoy review.

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

"I hate to close for two weeks, but in the long run it's going to benefit everyone. We'll have a better operation, less wait times, more seating," said Schiano.

So what are his customers saying about the closing?

"They're excited and bummed," said Schiano. "Excited by the renovations, but bummed their favorite restaurant will be closed for two weeks. They're all coming in and ordering pies. They're saying, 'We're freezing these pies to get us through.' They're also ordering extra sandwiches. They got to get their fix in before we close," he said.

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 more to Doylestown.

Schiano began making pizza when he was 11 at his dad's Maple Glen Pizza restaurant in Ambler. 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."

(Jeff Werner/Patch)