Village Pizza on North Chestnut Street has a long history in New Paltz, dating back to its origins in the ‘50s as the Jewett family farm’s JD’s Dairy Stand, where the soft-serve ice cream was the big draw. Over the years and through changes in ownership, the ice cream stand morphed into the Village Pizza that longtime residents have come to know and love, a place where the soft-serve and hard ice cream shares billing with all the pleasures of pizza.
Now the eatery has entered a new phase with new owners, husband and wife, Mike Katz and Lara Alicandro. The renovations they’ve made to the space have opened it up, making it lighter and brighter with dining tables replacing the retro booths and the pinball machines relocated to make room for a counter seating six. The layout changes extend to the kitchen area, as well, with a new 13-foot-long, “double-decker” glass-fronted display case offering 26 feet of shelving to showcase slices.
The recipes for pizza dough and sauce remain the same. “Because,” says Katz, “why mess with success? We inherited something that was already working very well.” But that doesn’t mean those foundation ingredients won’t be put to use in some new ways.
While the classic varieties of pizza will always be available by the slice for those who stop by, all that space in the new display case offers the couple an opportunity to “spread our wings,” Katz says. “We’re not necessarily reinventing the wheel, but at the same time, we have some unique offerings. We’ve added the concept of the signature slices, with ingredients like goat cheese, roasted garlic and spinach. And we’ve added pizza cups, which we found on a field trip down to visit New York City’s Prince St. Pizza.” Pizza cups are made with small pieces of pepperoni that curl up into cup-shapes in the oven as they crisp, forming a well that holds in the oil and flavor.
Village Pizza’s signature stuffed pies come in a meat or vegetarian version, the top crust dusted with sesame seeds. Both pies have mushrooms, onions, peppers and ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, with the meat version including pepperoni and the vegetarian adding eggplant. “We’ve also done away with mozzarella sticks,” says Katz. “We hand-cut mozzarella into wedges, bread and fry it and serve it with the house sauce. Anybody who’s a fan of fried mozzarella will tell you that this stuff is a league above the standard mozzarella sticks.”
The drive-through window is currently operational, with anything on the menu available to go that way. (Just ignore the sign in place that says “pizza only.”) The ice cream window will be up and running soon, serving hard and soft-serve ice cream along with Italian ices. Coffee service has been added, with espresso and cappuccino available as well as hot chocolate, and Village Pizza will soon serve wine and beer, when the liquor license already applied for is approved.
This is the first restaurant for Katz and Alicandro, but both have been in the business in other capacities for years. He’s worked in restaurants since age 14 and is a former general manager of P&G’s. Five years ago, Katz launched the local restaurant delivery service, Carry Out Kings. Alicandro — whose father was an executive chef for 30 years, at Albany’s La Serre French restaurant, among other places — has also worked in many restaurants over the years in front-of-the-house positions, including at Mohonk Mountain House and later at A Tavola Trattoria in New Paltz, working mostly part-time there after having children.
“When this opportunity fell into our lap, I had to decide whether to take the leap from front-of-the-house to learn the back of the house,” she says. “I’ve never really cooked before. But luckily, the former owners [Meghan Wagner and Renee Mitchell] worked out a six-week period of intense training for me, so when the time came to change hands I would be ready to jump right in. I came in every day and really learned how to make everything, so I feel very confident now.”
Wagner has even stayed on with the new Village Pizza as employee. “She’s an invaluable asset to us,” Katz notes. “We’re lucky to have her. Whenever we have a question, Meghan is here for us.”
Village Pizza was one of the restaurants that Carry Out Kings does deliveries for, which is how Katz came to learn the business was available. “When the prior owners expressed interest in moving on to other endeavors, it got the wheels turning in my head,” he says. “I thought, ‘This might be a wonderful opportunity for us.’”
Katz, who grew up in East Meadow on Long Island, and Alicandro, from Albany, met in New Paltz when both moved to the area to attend SUNY New Paltz and stayed. “We love our New Paltz community,” she says. “We hope to hang onto the people who have been coming to Village Pizza for years, and make some new customers, too.”
“We’re both so grateful for this opportunity,” Katz adds. “I’m absolutely humbled by how well-received we’ve been; it’s awesome. We love this community and look forward to being a part of it for a long time.”
The Carry Out Kings business will continue, too, he says. “I’m confident knowing that the team we have here can make a wonderful pizza on demand, and likewise, I’ve got a great team in Carry Out Kings, and they’ll be able to keep that moving forward. The two businesses are definitely separate, but they exist side by side and no doubt will strengthen each other.”
In fact, the connections Katz has made with other local eateries through the delivery business now offers some interesting possibilities for collaboration. For example, nearby Los Jalapenos restaurant gave some of their tomatillo sauce to Village Pizza, which used it as the base for a Mexican pizza, adding grilled chicken, caramelized onions and pepper jack cheese. “And that has been flying off the shelf,” he says. “Within the next couple of weeks, I intend to reach out to other friends in the industry and do similar collaborations. I think it opens the door for creating unique pies and for cross-marketing; we’re trying to increase our social media presence, and this way we can let people know, ‘This is made with the sauce from Los Jalapenos. If you want something different in pizza, come here, and if you want Mexican, go to them.’ And it’s not just them; it would be the same with any other restaurant we work with.”
The couple also plan to expand the menu at Village Pizza, over time, with vegan items and with Cuban offerings such as the croquetas Katz grew up with, crispy bite-size logs of smoothly ground ham coated in breadcrumbs and fried. “I am Cuban, and there are a lot of dishes, really more finger foods than anything else, that I’m excited to introduce to the menu.”
Katz’s grandmother, Mercedes Rodriguez, and his parents, Mercedes and David Katz, are also invested in the business. “Not just emotionally invested, but our partners in this endeavor,” says Mike. The family even relocated to Highland recently to be closer and lend support. Dad will also be “resident horticulturalist,” his son adds, with plans to spruce up the outside eating area with plantings once the weather allows.
Another component crucial to the way the new Village Pizza will operate is how the staff is encouraged to use their creativity and try new things. “That’s really what we’re about,” Katz says. “We let our staff know, ‘If you have an idea for something that you always wanted to try, please, share your ideas and we’ll try it.’ If we come up with a winner, great! We’ll run those as specials.”
That spirit of collaboration and trying new things fits right into their new signature hashtag, too, he adds: “It takes a Village Pizza.”
Village Pizza is located at 81 North Chestnut Street Call (845) 255-3100 or visit www.villagepizzanewpaltz.com.
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