Pizza-Ria offering ‘real’ Italian food and pizzas
Published 7:48 am Friday, May 26, 2017
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye The dessert menu at Pizza-Ria includes Triple Chocolate Cream Copa, left, Cannoli, center, and frozen Lemoncello, right, as well as cheesecake.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye Chris Chatman places fresh-sliced tomatoes onto a veggie pizza.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye Sulley Roberts puts the finishing touches on a pasta dish.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye April Chatman pipes filling into a fresh-made cannoli.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye Chris Chatman hand tosses dough to make a New York style pizza crust.
Star Photo/Abby Morris-Frye Pizza-Ria staff members, from left, Sulley Roberts, Chris Chatman, April Chatman, and Jon Fannon, welcome everyone to join them at the new restaurant located at 1435 W. G Street.
After enjoying three decades of success in the restaurant business in neighboring Banner Elk, N.C., the Accetturo family is bringing some of their traditional Italian style recipes to Elizabethton.
Pizza-Ria, located at 1435 W. G St., is now open for business and serving a variety of traditional and popular Italian dishes.
Just over 33 years ago, Anthony Accetturo and his late wife Geraldine Accetturo — known affectionately as “Mr. A” and “Mrs. A” — opened up Villa Sorrento, now called Sorrento’s Bistro.
“It started out really small, just like this,” Mr. A said. “When we started out, nobody understood what Italian food was.”
Over the years, Sorrento’s grew. Mr. A and Mrs. A retired from the restaurant and turned it over to their children — son Angello who runs the operation and daughter Maria. Now, a third generation is working in the family business.
Nearly a year ago, Maria Accetturo passed away after a battle with cancer.
“She was the backbone of the restaurant,” Mr. A said of his daughter.
It is his memory of his daughter that inspired Mr. A to open up a small restaurant in Elizabethton, in a way starting over again.
“She always used to say ‘Why don’t we find us a little place,’” Mr. A recalled. “It’s in memory of her, that’s why it’s called Pizza-Ria. That was what we called her, ‘Ria.’”
Pizza-Ria is getting started just like Sorrento’s got its start.
“This is a copy of what the original was,” Mr. A said. “This is real Italian owned by real Italians.”
Jon Fannon, one of the restaurant manager as Sorrento’s, has been working at Pizza-Ria to get it up and running.
“We’ve taken the old recipes — the pizza recipes, Mr. A’s recipes, and Mrs. A’s recipes — and brought them down here,” Fannon said.
The menu at Pizza-Ria includes a variety of pizzas, pastas, salads, subs and desserts.
And, if you want something that is not on the menu, all you have to do is ask according to Fannon.
“If we have the ingredients we’ll make it,” he said.
When it comes to making the dishes and pizzas, Fannon said the focus is on fresh, high-quality ingredients. The sauce is made in-house, as is a lot of the pasta.
“We make everything we can in-house,” Fannon said. “Everything we buy is premium quality.”
“We’re making it from good, wholesome ingredients,” he added. “We’re even buying our produce here locally.”
While using the best possible ingredients, Fannon said they are also striving to keep prices low for the customers.
“We’re falling in line with the prices of the other people in town, and we’re using better ingredients,” Fannon said. “You’re getting more bang for your buck.”
From their location on West G Street, Fannon said they are currently focusing more on take-out and delivery, though they do have a small dining room. Pizza-Ria will deliver orders within a five-mile radius, but Fannon said they try to accommodate those living within a seven-mile radius of the restaurant.
The site where Pizza-Ria is located was once home to another restaurant, and Fannon and Mr. A both wanted to make sure that customers know Pizza-Ria is an entirely new restaurant with no affiliation to the previous occupant of the building.
This weekend, Pizza-Ria will hold a special Grand Opening celebration. Beginning Friday and running through the Memorial Day holiday on Monday the restaurant will be offering cheese and pepperoni pizza for $1 per slice.
Pizza-Ria is open seven days a week — from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. For more information, call Pizza-Ria at 423-543-2008, find them on Facebook by searching for “Pizza-Ria.” The website for the restaurant is currently under construction but will be found at www.elizabethtonpizzaria.com.
