Everyone has that one restaurant they love, that they’ll travel any number of miles to get back to. It might be a childhood favorite that brings back happy memories as well as serves up good food. It might be states away, a place you only get to visit on vacation. But that restaurant is always worth the time and effort it takes to get there.

For Joe Bucciarelli and his sons Matthew, Adam and Joseph, that special restaurant was Colarusso’s Pizza in the Old Forge, Pennsylvania area, a local pizza place they made a point to visit every time they went up north to visit family. Ever since moving to Fayette County five years ago, Joe had been trying to find pizza as good as Colarusso’s, but there just wasn’t anything that came close.

So Joe made a bold decision. Tired of waiting to eat good pizza only once or twice a year when he had a chance to visit family in the Old Forge area, he decided to bring Colarusso’s to Fayette County, opening the first ever franchise of the family restaurant.

“I really believe that this pizza is better,” he said. “It’s real pizza. It’s the pizza everyone from the Northeast has been looking for down here.”

He’s right, the pizza is good, based on a 30-year-old Old Forge family recipe. Knowing the water up north just makes a pizza taste better, he has all his dough shipped in. It makes for a pizza that is not super flat like New York pizza, not overly saucy like Chicago style pizza, but a thick pizza that is truely unique. Also different is the shape of the pie; Colarusso’s pizzas are made in large rectangles and slices are cut into slices the size of a dollar bill.

Pepperoni pizza remains a favorite at Colarusso’s, but a few suprising specialty pizzas also dot the menu. A broccoli and cheese pizza is available for those wanting an untraditional twist, along with a white pizza and a Hawaiian version with ham and pineapple. For those sticking with the basics, there are the veggie and supreme options, topped with pepperoni, sausage, onions, green peppers and black olives. Or you could order Joe’s favorite, a plain cheese.

“I’m not really into toppings,” he says. “I think people put on toppings to hide the fact that they don’t really have a good pizza. If you have a good pizza, it doesn’t need anything but cheese.” Prices range from $7.50 for a six-slice cheese pizza to $15.95 for a supreme.

Along with pizzas, Colarusso’s offers the best stromboli in town. These calzone-like sandwiches are packed full of ingredients and rolled up in a tasty dough, topped with savory Italian spices. The Italian Stromboli comes stuffed with ham, cappacola, salami, onions, mushrooms and green peppers, all held together by melted cheese and served with a marinara dipping sauce. There is also a steak and cheese version, or you can mix and match your own toppings, like banana peppers, bacon or ground beef, making a stromboli that’s all your own. A small stromboli starts at $7.95.

Rounding out Colarusso’s menu are a selection of hoagies, including a chicken parmigiana, steak and cheese, or the Italian hoagie, with ham, cappacola, salami and provolone cheese. Prices start at an affordable $5.75 for these delicious sandwiches.

“Someone from Philadelphia commented that the steak and cheese hoagie is the best they’ve had since moving down to this area over five years ago,” Joe said.

Since opening in April, Joe says business has been steadily picking up as word of mouth spreads and regular customers begin returning every week for their pizza fix.
“We have good pizza,” Joe said simply, and his customers agree.

They include Melanie Olson who said, "Colarusso's is by far my family's favorite pizza! All three of my kids and husband love it, crave it and beg for it. We are ordering pizza once or twice a week now. My youngest son has a terrible food allergy. He is allergic to Soy which is in all processed foods. Colarusso's pizza is made from all fresh ingredients and it doesn't contain soy. The sauce is wonderful and crust is deliciously crispy. It has been a life saver for me with our busy schedule and my son's allergy. All of his friends at his middle school are talking about Colarusso's being "the BEST pizza" too. We love it! "

Colarusso’s Pizza is located at 1025 North Peachtree Parkway in Peacthree City, in the Kedron Kroger Shopping Center. The restaurant is open Monday through Thursday for dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays the restaurant is also open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday dinner hours are 5 p.m. -10 p.m. Saturday hours are noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday hours are 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The restaurant is eat-in or carry-out and catering is available. For more information, call 770-632-7332.