Post by craig on May 28, 2018 6:03:28 GMT
Famed Napanee pizzeria for sale
By Meghan Balogh, The Whig-Standard
Sunday, May 27, 2018 7:52:58 EDT PM
Bill and Marina Kosmopoulos are seen behind the counter at La Pizzeria in Napanee, surrounded by their Avril Lavigne memorabilia. La Pizzeria is famously the pop star’s favourite pizza place, and she still visits when she’s in town. (Meghan Balogh/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network)
For more than 36 years, La Pizzeria has been a food fixture in Napanee.
Now, the famed home of Avril Lavigne’s favourite pizza is up for sale, and the owners are getting ready to retire.
Bill and Marina Kosmopoulos have decided to find a new owner for their pizza shop on Dundas Street West in downtown Napanee.
They’re thanking their longtime customers for the support over the years.
“They say they’re going to miss us, but we told them if someone takes over, we’re going to teach them everything we know,” Bill said.
“They say it’s not going to be the same without us,” Marina said.
“We had high school kids coming in and now they come in with their own kids,” Bill said.
Bill and Marina immigrated from Greece more than four decades ago, following other family members to Canada. Bill, a cabinetmaker by trade, fell into making pizza by accident when he was looking to supplement his cabinetmaking income.
“I worked in Toronto on the weekends in a pizza restaurant, to help make my living so my kids and wife could stay home, to support the family,” he said.
La Pizzeria’s pizza is a “mom and pop” recipe, and it’s won over many fans in the past three and a half decades, including world-famous pop singer and Napanee native Avril Lavigne.
Bill says Lavigne was a fan of their pizza long before she was famous.
“She’d come in for a slice at lunch time,” Bill said.
Even after her rise to stardom, Lavigne continues to visit the restaurant whenever she is in the area, though she hasn’t been in since her Lyme diagnosis and battle.
Lavigne’s rave reviews of La Pizzeria have given the Napanee restaurant an international reputation — Bill says guests stop in from all over the world, Lavigne pilgrims who visit her small hometown to walk in the star’s footsteps.
“Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, Brazil, Mexico. Yesterday I got a call from Mexico,” he said. “Lots of people come in and see the place.”
The shop is full of Avril memorabilia — signed posters and photos, and even some graffiti on a booth chair that Lavigne claimed as hers in permanent marker. Most of the items will go with Bill and Marina, as a lot of it is personalized to them. The ones signed to “La Pizzeria” will be left for the new owner.
Bill said that when Lavigne became famous, a menu from his restaurant sold on eBay for $75.
“That’s Avril’s favourite pizza, ‘Home of Avril Lavigne,’ you know,” Bill said with a laugh.
La Pizzeria has been listed for sale for a week and hasn’t had any interested buyers yet. Bill and Marina say they’re in “no hurry” to get rid of the shop and will wait for the right person to come along, ideally someone who’d like to learn about the business and continue it on.
They want to thank the many people who have bought their pizza over the years.
“We want to thank everyone for their support all those years,” Marina said.
“We love everybody,” Bill said. “We know everybody here. And we want to thank Avril for everything.”
www.thewhig.com/2018/05/27/famed-napanee-pizzeria-for-sale
By Meghan Balogh, The Whig-Standard
Sunday, May 27, 2018 7:52:58 EDT PM
Bill and Marina Kosmopoulos are seen behind the counter at La Pizzeria in Napanee, surrounded by their Avril Lavigne memorabilia. La Pizzeria is famously the pop star’s favourite pizza place, and she still visits when she’s in town. (Meghan Balogh/The Whig-Standard/Postmedia Network)
For more than 36 years, La Pizzeria has been a food fixture in Napanee.
Now, the famed home of Avril Lavigne’s favourite pizza is up for sale, and the owners are getting ready to retire.
Bill and Marina Kosmopoulos have decided to find a new owner for their pizza shop on Dundas Street West in downtown Napanee.
They’re thanking their longtime customers for the support over the years.
“They say they’re going to miss us, but we told them if someone takes over, we’re going to teach them everything we know,” Bill said.
“They say it’s not going to be the same without us,” Marina said.
“We had high school kids coming in and now they come in with their own kids,” Bill said.
Bill and Marina immigrated from Greece more than four decades ago, following other family members to Canada. Bill, a cabinetmaker by trade, fell into making pizza by accident when he was looking to supplement his cabinetmaking income.
“I worked in Toronto on the weekends in a pizza restaurant, to help make my living so my kids and wife could stay home, to support the family,” he said.
La Pizzeria’s pizza is a “mom and pop” recipe, and it’s won over many fans in the past three and a half decades, including world-famous pop singer and Napanee native Avril Lavigne.
Bill says Lavigne was a fan of their pizza long before she was famous.
“She’d come in for a slice at lunch time,” Bill said.
Even after her rise to stardom, Lavigne continues to visit the restaurant whenever she is in the area, though she hasn’t been in since her Lyme diagnosis and battle.
Lavigne’s rave reviews of La Pizzeria have given the Napanee restaurant an international reputation — Bill says guests stop in from all over the world, Lavigne pilgrims who visit her small hometown to walk in the star’s footsteps.
“Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, Brazil, Mexico. Yesterday I got a call from Mexico,” he said. “Lots of people come in and see the place.”
The shop is full of Avril memorabilia — signed posters and photos, and even some graffiti on a booth chair that Lavigne claimed as hers in permanent marker. Most of the items will go with Bill and Marina, as a lot of it is personalized to them. The ones signed to “La Pizzeria” will be left for the new owner.
Bill said that when Lavigne became famous, a menu from his restaurant sold on eBay for $75.
“That’s Avril’s favourite pizza, ‘Home of Avril Lavigne,’ you know,” Bill said with a laugh.
La Pizzeria has been listed for sale for a week and hasn’t had any interested buyers yet. Bill and Marina say they’re in “no hurry” to get rid of the shop and will wait for the right person to come along, ideally someone who’d like to learn about the business and continue it on.
They want to thank the many people who have bought their pizza over the years.
“We want to thank everyone for their support all those years,” Marina said.
“We love everybody,” Bill said. “We know everybody here. And we want to thank Avril for everything.”
www.thewhig.com/2018/05/27/famed-napanee-pizzeria-for-sale
