By Brendan Browne
Several Italian food lovers made sure they made it to the last Community Board 8 meeting.
The hungry lot showed up to voice support for their favorite eatery inKew Gardens Hills, Angelo’s Pizzeria, and to ensure the board would approve the restaurant's plans to add a sidewalk dining area.
Board members, many of whom eat at the popular pizza parlor and restaurant at 69-26 Main St, backed the plans with only one dissenting vote, leading many into a gleeful scene of hugs and kisses.
The sight illustrated the love the family-run Angelo’s has garnered in its 41 years as several patrons surrounded Mario Carusone, one of the owners, congratulating him as if he was just married.
“The food is excellent but in addition to that there is a level of hospitality and friendliness which exists between the three brothers and the patrons that is quite rare,” said Stanley Gerber of Kew Gardens Hills, referring to Steve, Raymond, and Mario Carusone who own and operate the restaurant.
Gerber, like many in the vicinity of Kew Gardens Hills, has eaten at Angelo’s for over 25 years, making the restaurant a fixture in the community. Like their father, Salvatore, who owned the restaurant until he died in 1995, the brothers pride themselves on creating close friendships with their customers.
“What we give our customers is a piece of ourselves,” said Mario, who many patrons remember as a child when he and his brothers were practically growing up in Angelo’s . “Everyone knows us in the neighborhood. We love our customers because they love us,” he added when interviewed at the restaurant.
That relationship started when Salvatore, an Italian immigrant who reached Ellis Island sometime in the late 1950s, bought Angelo’s from his best friend six months after it opened in 1961. Before that he spent his free time learning to make pizza in Angelo’s while he worked as a dishwasher in New Jersey for $5 a week.
When Salvatore took over Angelo’s, it was exclusively a 10-foot by 20-foot pizza parlor with only two tables and four chairs. A slice of pizza cost 25 cents and $1 bought a pie.
Since then, Angelo’s has moved a few stores down, undergone four renovations, and gained many customers. Even Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) called the restaurant to congratulate the Carusone brothers on the community board’s approval.
“Our parents are the prime example of the American dream,” said Mario, pointing out success of Angelo’s. “Our objective is to carry out what was taught” by Salvatore and Regina, who like her husband immigrated to America from Naples, Italy.
To be fair, despite Angelo’s popular food and service, some homeowners on 69th Road are concerned that the expansion will draw more customers and traffic. The restaurant normally almost fills to capacity on weekend nights and parking will probably be tighter after the renovation is complete in August.
Mario plans to open a small private lot behind the restaurant to alleviate possible parking problems and he thinks the expansion will not cause a disturbance on the block.
You can reach Brendan Browne by email at TimesLedger@aol.com or by phone at 229-0300, Ext. 155.
