City of Rochester
News Release
(Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010) – Mayor Robert J. Duffy and R. Carlos Carballada, the City’s Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development, joined founder and owner Salvatore “Soccer Sam” Fantauzzo to officially open the 20th location of Salvatore’s Old Fashioned Pizzeria at 1700 Culver Road at 2:30 p.m.
The first Salvatore’s Pizzeria opened in 1978, as a high school project of founder Salvatore Fantauzzo. The family-owned and operated business quickly became a favorite in the Rochester community and remains popular throughout the region.
Salvatore Fantauzzo and co-owners and investors, John Coraggioso and Ray LoRe considered other locations for this newest store but decided to purchase and renovate the historic 1958 “Donuts Delight” building because they wanted to save a much-loved Rochester landmark and popular meeting place. The 5,000 square foot building had been closed for over five years and there were serious mechanical issues that needed to be resolved before reopening. The owners put a great deal of investment capital and effort into totally renovating both the exterior and interior of the building to restore it to its original look and feel.
“It’s exciting to see a locally-famous landmark like the “Donuts Delite” building come back to life,” said Mayor Duffy. “We are pleased for their continuing commitment to Rochester and honored that Mr. Fantauzzo and his associates chose to renovate this historic building and open another store in their successful chain, here in our City.”
This location will feature pizza with an expanded menu that includes wings, burgers, subs, wraps, chicken, dinners, ribs, and salads, plus offer catering, and, of course, donuts. All Salvatore’s locations purchase 100% of their products directly from Palmer’s, another locally- based business.
Salvatore’s recently lost a neighborhood location to the tragic fire on November 23rd that destroyed a large portion of the Ridge-Clinton Plaza. Within a few weeks after the fire, Salvatore’s reopened nearby in another City location at 149 East Ridge Road, allowing them to retain existing jobs and continue serving the northeast neighborhood.
Approximately 50 people will be hired for the new Culver Road store. Salvatore’s Old Fashioned Pizzeria plans on opening 20 additional locations in our area within the next couple of years, hiring 25-50 employees per store. The entire Salvatore’s company employs over 600 people from the Rochester community.
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News Media: For information, call Neighborhood and Business Development Commissioner R. Carlos Carballada at (585) 428-8801.