Pauly's Pizza

Pauly's Pizza will reopen in a couple of weeks, according to co-owner Paul Berardini.

The restaurant closed today for two reasons, Berardini said. First, it's time for some remodeling -- and the dead of winter is a good time to do it -- and the doctor ordered some rest for Berardini to take care of a minor medical issue.

In a couple of weeks, customers can expect a "healthy owner," a fresh cleaning, a new fryer hood and some equipment changes, Berardini said.

Paul Berardini has gotten a warm welcome in Clarence.

When you make good food for people, things like that tend to happen.

The second location for Batavia-based Pauly's Pizza is really catching on, Berardini said, but what really kicked business up another notch was a rave review in the Buffalo News.

"That was priceless," Berardini said. "She gave us four out of four pennies and I've been told nobody has gotten four out of four pennies in a long time."

Berardini and partner Dave Stupp opened the new location Oct. 24 -- by coincidence, the seventh anniversary of the first Pauly's location opening on Liberty Street in Batavia (Pauly's is now located on Ellicott Street after a fire destroyed the previous location).

"This town needed something different," Berardini said. "They needed a hearth-baked pizza. They needed something we could offer that they're not used to getting in this area. They're used to pans, screens, conveyer belts, where we're doing hearth-baked, and my tenders, they've never had out here."

Where Batavia has eight pizzerias serving 18,000 people, Clarance only had four pizzerias serving 25,000.

When a prime location -- with more than 15,000 cars passing daily --  on Route 5 became available, Berardini and Stupp decided to move on it.

The 3,000-square-foot location was previously a served charcoal-pit hamburgers and hot dogs, but the owner struggled with a seasonal business, Berardini said.

The partners invested in two pizza ovens, a fryer, a griddle and all new furniture and fixtures.

"Everything you see here is new," said Berardini, who has talked in recent years about trying to find a way to expand the dining area of Pauly's.

The new location gives him a restaurant with plenty of seating.

"I always felt that a pizzeria isn't just a pizzeria any more," Berardini said. "Now we serve fish fry and ribs and pasta. We're already selling more fish fries and fingers here."

As is the process these days, it wasn't easy to get the new location open. There were delays with the health inspections and the town was giving some push back on the sign.

"Once they found out what we were investing in this place, and that we were hiring 20 people, giving 20 new jobs to the area, they kind of gave us a stay of execution on the sign," Berardini said.

Getting the restaurant open has taken a lot of Berardini's time. He hopes that after the first of the year, he can more evenly split time between the Batavia and Clarence locations. He hopes more friends and fans from Batavia will visit Clarence.

But working nearly seven days a week suits Berardini just fine for now. The new location is doing well, he feels like the employees in both locations are family, and he says he's living the dream.

"I was born to do this and this is what I love to do," Berardini said.

The staff of Pauly's Pizza are wearing "Brooklyn" shirts tonight as part of an effort to raise awareness of the plight of little Brooklyn Grace Sputore, who suffers from Vein of Galen Brain Malformation, which is a form of an aneurysm. This is a life-threatening condition that requires special care.

Pauly's is accepting donations on behalf of baby Brooklyn.

There is a fundraiser planned from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 10 at St. Joseph's School at 2 Summit St., Batavia. This will include a spaghetti dinner, a Chinese auction and other raffles.

The tickets can be purchased pre-sale from Paul Sputore 781-8138 and other committee members. Tickets will also be available at the door. Brooklyn's Journey T-shirts are $15 and can be purchased from Bruce Dedman 716-560-0031 or T.F. Brown’s/Mancuso Bowling Center. All proceeds will assist the Sputore family in this difficult time.

The Sputore famly were at Pauly's this evening. Below is a picture of Brooklyn and her mom, Julie.

John Kennedy School held its annual awards assembly this morning and presented its first ever "Volunteer Businessman of the Year Award" to Paul Berardini, co-owner of Pauly's Pizza. Berardini was recognized for his many contributions to the school.

Students were also recognized for achievements in academics, the arts and school involvement.

Three more pictures after the jump:

Alexandra Reigle, 11, and her 8-year-old brother Devyn, spent the day at Pauly's Pizza on Ellicott Street learning more about what their father does for a living. Kevin Reigle, in the back at the far right, has been a manager at Pauly's for five years. He brought his children into the shop today for "Take Your Kids to Work Day." 

They started when the doors opened in the morning and stayed until nearly 5 p.m. doing many of the same tasks their dad does.

Above, they help get pizza dough ready for rolling with the help of Jake Laverick.

Kevin said the day was really eye opening for them. He said they gained a real appreciation for what it is that Dad does for a living.

You see Pauly Berardini everyplace. His face is on the side of his ubiquitous delivery cars, on the outfield wall at Dwyer Stadium and various youth sports facilities around town.

It’s been that way in Batavia for five years now.

It’s an audacious bit of promotion, but when Berardini and his partner Dave Stupp decided to open up a pizza joint, they knew they would need strong marketing to stand out in a very competitive town for pizzerias.

“I thought about that (the competitive environment),” Berardini said while slathering tomato sauce on a pepperoni pie destined for a youth sporting event. “I thought about the demographic. I just decided to use my face, my talent and go from there.”

He's done other things with his life – from baking to selling cars – but to hear him talk, it’s clear: 40-year-old Pauly Berardini was destined to be a pizza man.

“I went to food service at BOCES and I learned how to frost cakes and make pancakes,” Berardini said. “That wasn’t exciting to me. Ever since I was a little boy, just watching that guy throw a pizza in the air – you know, like a kid wants to be a fireman, he sees the fire trucks, I saw a couple of gentlemen who ended up being good friends of mine kind of teaching me the business, and I just decided it was something I wanted to do.”

Pauly was inspired by the pizza men he saw at the legendary Gino’s Pizza. Gino’s was a mainstay at 102 Liberty St. through the 1960s and 1970s. Then the location became Ficarella’s, where Pauly worked for seven years. And that was the location Pauly chose for his own pizzeria when he and Stupp opened for business Oct. 24, 2004.

By all accounts, the original Pauly’s was a successful, growing company, and then tragedy struck – the kind of turn of events that has put many people out of business – fire.

An early morning blaze on March 21, 2007 destroyed Pauly’s on Liberty. The cause of the fire was never determined, but it meant that three businesses lost their locations. The old place -- behind the former Mother’s Chicken ‘n’ Fish building  -- is now a parking lot. 

Apparently, the two other businesses in that building – Room for Dessert Cafe and Batavia Framing and Design – never reopened.

Berardini and Stupp weren’t going to be kept down, though. Eighty-eight days later, the doors opened at 314 Ellicott St., and this time Pauly's featured seating and a waitress, a level of service the partners had wanted to add all along.

“I had a lot of phone calls and messages that were left on my answering machine from customers and friends encouraging me to get going again,” Pauly said. “Yeah, it was traumatic at first, but when one door closes, another one opens.

"Now we have a great sit-down place here and the parking on the weekends is great. (People can) bring the family, have a party – we have a party of 20 today – sit down is the key.”

Pauly was excited Saturday morning -- not just to be celebrating five years in business – he and Stupp had just received word that they’ve been approved for a beer and wine license and will start serving them within a week.

“Now you can come and enjoy pizza or pasta with beer or wine, and that’s always a plus,” Berardini said.

Hats off to Jay Lynch and the Genesee County Fire Wire for picking up a second place grab in the International Association of Fire Fighters Media Awards Contest. Lynch won in the category of "Fire service photo on a Web site" for this shot of city of "Batavia Fire Department Lieutenant Mark Mikolajczyk pulling down the ceiling during overhaul operations at 39 Washington Avenue."

From the press release:

Each year the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) holds their “Media Awards Contest”. The Media Awards Contest honors communications, reporting and photography that best portray the professional and dangerous work of fire fighters and emergency medical personnel in the United States and Canada.

These awards recognize the exceptional work by IAFF affiliates who serve a vital role in their communities while generating public awareness for fire fighters. The stories and photos entered also bring to light important issues that affect the welfare of fire fighters throughout North America.

The 2008 Media Awards Contest entries are made up of many categories including print, internet, and video media. City of Batavia IAFF Local 896 entered several photos in following categories:  “News Photo With A Circulation Under 100,000” and “Fire Service Photo On A Web Site”.

That seems like quite an honor for Lynch and the Fire Wire. Congratulations!

The Daily News also picked up a nod. A photo of fire fighters tackling a blaze at Pauly's Pizza received honorable mention.

Honorable mentions ... are used in the IAFF’s Burn Foundation Calendar. The Burn Foundation is dedicated to burn prevention and education, burn research and improving the quality of life for burn survivors. It was created in 1982 and is the largest non-government source for burn research grants and the sponsor of the annual IAFF National Children’s Burn Camp, held each fall in Washington, DC. The Batavia local of the IAFF is proud to have the Daily News photo included for the 2009 IAFF Burn Foundation Fundraising Calendar.

You can purchase a calendar at the IAFF Web store.