By SAVANNAH BARR

s.barr@bradfordera.com

The first Pizza Napoli & Restaurant, 147 W. Washington St. in Bradford, was established in 1973. Through the decades, it has become a staple of the community and a haven for those who love a good slice.

Greg and Susan Gleason bought the restaurant in 2015. Since then, they have focused on serving up quality bites one meal at a time and adding exciting new menu options. The restaurant offers dining in and takeout. Last year, they also completed a covered outdoor patio that can seat 75 people comfortably.

Their winter hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. Later in the spring they will switch to summer hours, which are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.

The staff at Pizza Napoli’s knows what it takes to make a good meal great. Sue Gleason told The Era more about their process.

‘We make everything that morning with fresh ingredients; never frozen,’ Gleason said. ‘We don’t buy things prepackaged; we do that little bit of extra work to make it our way.’

Staff hand make everything in small batches — from the pizza sauce and dough to spaghetti sauce and meatballs. They have nine different calzone varieties available. In addition to regular pizzas, there are nine specialty pizzas on the menu and a selection of gluten-free pizza options. Each month, they also offer an inventive pizza of the month. (For March, it is loaded mashed potato.)

‘In the past we have done spaghetti and meatball pizza, jalapeno popper pizza, BBQ pulled pork and jalapeno,’ said Gleason. ‘It is a fun excuse to get creative on a pizza and our customers look forward to seeing what we come up with.’

The shop offers much more than just pizza, wings and subs. Their dinner offerings include lasagna, sausage rolls, cheese ravioli, spaghetti, stuffed shells, baked ziti, gnocchi, fettuccine alfredo, chicken parmigiana and eggplant parmigiana.

‘Some people may not know but we have a pretty amazing fish fry as well,’ said Gleason.

For dessert, they offer cannoli, cookies and New York style cheesecake, among other rotating delicacies.

Their newest menu item is the panuozzo.

‘It is like a pizza dough sandwich that is loaded up with ingredients and then baked in our pizza oven,’ said Gleason.

‘For example we have an Italian one that is full of Italian deli meats, then we bake it and add garlic aioli mayonnaise and balsamic glaze.’ The Italian spirit of good food and kinship is alive and well at Pizza Napoli. The family owned and operated business is committed to making customers feel right at home.

‘Growing up in a big Italian family, every time we had an event it revolved around delicious food,’ said Gleason. ‘My parents catered for years so I guess I got my passion for cooking from them.’

Gleason’s sister is general manager of the shop, and her brother-in-law Napoli… page A-8

Pizza Napoli at 147 W. Washington St. in Bradford.

Era photo by Sara Furlong

The Gleason family, owners of Pizza Napoli in Bradford.

makes the pizza dough every day. Her two grown daughters, Samantha Rinfrette and Jessica Cowen, are also involved in the business.

Between full-time and part-time staff, the business employs 22 people. In the summer months, several more employees will be added to the roster.

“We pride ourselves on our family first environment,” said Gleason. “We function as a little tight knit family.”

In addition to the restaurant, Pizza Napoli has a mobile food trailer that travels around to local events in the warmer months. Making wood fired brick oven pizza is a nice way to get out and meet some new faces, Gleason said.

“We attend lots of festivals and private catering events all around the area and have a lot of fun with it.”

Pizza Napoli is a major supporter of a huge variety of local charities, initiatives and private fundraisers. These include CASA of McKean County, Bradford Creative and Performing Arts Center, Bradford Little Theatre, Festa Italiana, Bradford Owls Booster Club, Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce, YMCA, YWCA, Destinations Bradford and the Friendship Table.

“The way my husband and I were raised was to always give back,” said Gleason. “In order for a small community to thrive you have to support that community.”