Just noticed the obituary that ran the other day for Anthony Pontillo, one of the founders of the Pontillo's chain. The story contains a few tidbits about the history of the business.Mr. Pontillo was certainly a pizza pioneer in this area. He and his brothers opened the first Pontillo's, in Batavia, in 1947 and their first Rochester location in 1952. So next time you're enjoying a pizza, Pontillo's or otherwise, hoist a slice in his memory.
Sad to hear about him. RIP
ReplyDeleteAbout his pizza though, I've gone thru highs and lows with his pizza. I've probably eaten at 7 or 8 pontillo's in the area during my lifetime, and I can assure you that each location was almost like eating at a completely different pizzeria. It was the opposite of consistency, and sometimes i think they don't even use the same ingredients vendors.
I would say the Mt. Hope location is the worst among the ones ive tried. The thin crust pizza at the Bushnells Basin location is not only my favorite Pontillos, but one of my favorite pizzas in the area period. (I specifically ask for thin crust). The Alexander st location seems to have those massive slices catering to the drunk crowd.
Ah well..
I've heard several people say that about Pontillo's. It may not be a coincidence that Pontillo's is one of the oldest chains around. My guess is that the founders knew a thing or two about making pizza and running a pizzeria, but today's practices for maintaining uniformity and consistency throughout a chain simply didn't exist, or at least weren't widely understood, back then. So you ended up with a bunch of places that share a name and not much else.
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