‘I promised I would come back’: Via’s Pizza returns to Norristown
NORRISTOWN — Via’s Pizza has come home to Norristown, and the community couldn’t be happier.
Owners of the popular Italian eatery took to social media to share their excitement as they “unlock the doors” to the revamped location at 1803 Markley St.
The online Facebook announcement was met with more than 1,000 reactions, as well as hundreds of comments and shares to the post.
Person after person recounted their own memories associated with the Norristown-based institution that’s been serving staples such as pizza, cheesesteaks and water ice for decades.
“Wow! So happy for you! It looks great! Welcome back to the old neighborhood! Congratulations and best of luck to you! We’d be lost without Via’s!!!,” said commenter Bettyann Cottonaro.
“Awesome!!! Congrats. I’ve been going to Via since they were in the shopping center across from this location,” said commenter Paul Oreal.
Co-owners Vito Parisi, 67, of Collegeville, as well as Domenico and Joseph Stabile were touched by the welcomed reception from past patrons and area residents alike.
“Oh the people, they couldn’t wait. (They) always ask us when are you coming back?” Parisi said.
“We’ve been serving clients (for) 51 years. So they’ve been really nice to us, everybody. So (it) makes us feel good and try to take care of them,” Domenico, 75, of Plymouth Meeting, said.
The completely renovated pizza shop features a counter service model and table seating. Via’s Pizza has at least six employees, according to Parisi and can accommodate a capacity of up to 70 patrons.
Pasta, jars of olives, peppers and tomato sauce adorned shelving in front of the counter that separates the kitchen where an extensive menu of classic Italian fare will be prepared.
Via’s famous for its Sicilian slices and pies, so says Domenico.
“Sicilian pizza is the highest quality that everybody really looks for. We sell a lot of those. Here, and at the other place too. So we’ve been named for Sicilian since we started here in 1973,” he said.
The original Via Veneto Pizza was just across the road, a 560-square-foot shop inside the Logan Square shopping center. The family restaurant has grown, now in its third generation.
It gained a following as Domenico and Parisi observed children who used to come to the store keep coming back with their own families. They moved to Markley Street in the early 1980s.
Domenico said they would have liked to have undertaken a large-scale renovation of the store more than a decade ago, but permitting and expenses put a snag in that plan.
“Actually, we wanted to do this 11 years ago — rebuild bigger location and be able to put a bigger place up— but the expenses (were) tremendous,” he said.
Via Veneto found a new spot in nearby East Norriton Township back in 2013. Located at 2688 Dekalb Pike, it has capacity for around 140 patrons, as well as more employees to accommodate a sit-down dining experience. The owners plan to continue operating the East Norriton location.
They also said they wanted to make the newly renovated place in Norristown stand out, and that started with the name.
“Some people say ‘pizza is pizza,’ but everybody, a lot of people look for Via. Because they’ve been calling us a lot, they’ve been calling us Via,” Domenico said.
While it took a few years to fully reconstruct the space and get everything ready, coming home to Norristown was never far from their minds.
“I want to say, from the day we first moved out of here, I definitely wanted to come back,” Domenico said. “At this age, did I need to do that? No, but Norristown … it give(s) us the life…”
“Like home,” Parisi said, adding “people love us because we’ve been here forever. Everybody knows us.”
“Norristown give(s) us the life that we have. We have a family now, we have kids, grandchildren, and if it wouldn’t be for Norristown, we wouldn’t have all of that. So that’s why I definitely wanted to come back,” Domenico said. “I promised I would come back, and I am now.”
Via’s Pizza is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It’s open on Sundays from noon-8 p.m. during the spring and summer months and 2-9 p.m. in the fall and winter.
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