New pizzeria now open for business

New York-based pizza vendor Famous Famiglia held its grand opening yesterday, with enthusiastic staff members yelling "Fresh pizza" throughout the establishment's new home in the Moravian Cafes.

Famous Famiglia is taking over the space vacated in December by its predecessor Cosimo's Pizza, and the vendor hopes to do better at Penn than Cosimo's -- and many other pizzerias before them -- have fared.

"This place is just starving for good pizza," said John Kolaj, one of four brothers who founded Famous Famiglia. "With our combo of good service and great pizza, we're a natural winner."

The retailer first opened in a small facility surrounded by seven other pizza retailers in 1986, and the Penn location is the twelfth outfit nationwide. It will serve as a take-out and dine-in facility. Delivery services should begin within the next few months.

"College locations fit our business model," Kolaj said. "There is great opportunity in Philadelphia."

Still, it appears that Famous Famiglia will have a long road ahead. Cosimo's, which left Penn after 15 years of operation, had cited lack of business and poor conditions at the Moravian Cafes as the primary reasons for closing. But Kolaj seemed undaunted.

"We have the highest per-square-foot sales of all the pizza chains in the world," Kolaj boasted. "All our stores are economically viable."

However, Kolaj said that Famous Famiglia is not just a pizza business, but a tribute to the founders' parents who believed in hard work and family values.

Famous Famiglia "isn't a cash cow," Kolaj said. "We're trying to create a brand that will honor our mother and father."

Kolaj also emphasized that it is quality of service and food, not business, that is most important to his operation.

"I've been to the fields in California where the tomatoes for our sauce [are grown], and I regularly see the cows that make our cheese," added Kolaj, who has worked in pizzerias since he was nine years old. "This is my life. If Famiglia is on my tombstone, that is fine with me."

In addition to paying tribute to their parents, the founders of Famous Famiglia also believe in paying tribute to the communities from which they draw their business.

"We are very involved in community service. It's a top priority," store manager Harry Mentonis said. "Each store donates to its local community, and we also donate nationally."

With approximately 30 percent of profits going towards the community, Famous Famiglia has sponsored baseball and softball teams, handed out library scholarships and employees even flew out to Iowa for one week during the disastrous floods of 1993 to freshly make and donate 750 pizzas a day.

"To give you an idea of what we do, a little girl and her parents came in once. She was going to have heart surgery and only had a 10 percent chance to live. I asked her what she wanted to do when she recovered. She said she wanted to make pizza and meet Hillary Clinton. We did both for her," recalled Kolaj. "That right there is the reason I'm in business."

Famous Famiglia demonstrated that history of service to the Penn community yesterday by donating the first day's earnings to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"All these receipts from today are going straight to the Children's Hospital," Kolaj said.

Added Mentonis, "We plan to get involved with supporting Penn sports, as well."

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