The pizza wars will soon be heating up in Avon as Antonio’s Pizza is planning to open a location in City Centre, next to , by the end of the year.
Longtime Cleveland-area residents may be familiar with the company as Antonio’s Pizza has been family-owned and operated since 1967. Now over 43 years and three generations later, Antonio's has expanded to eight locations, including Westlake and the new Avon site. The original locations are in Parma.
“We look for locations where there is a lot of growth opportunities,’ Anthony LoSchiavo, co-owner/operator, said. “We have always liked Avon. It fits our demographic. We are a high-quality pizza place that focuses on good quality and good service. That is why even in a bad economy, we’re up 30 percent.”
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LoSchiavo works in partnership with his father, Fred and brother Vincent at the LoSchiavo Restaurant Group. His grandparents are still involved in the operations at the Parma location.
“Many of our Westlake customers are from Avon and kept asking ‘when are you coming to Avon?’” LoSchiavo said. “From the décor to everything we do, we are a step above our competition.”
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The 2,000-square-foot City Centre location will have seating for about 15 to 20 guests. Orders will be taken at the counter. Take-out and delivery will be available, as well as catering.
“One of the reasons we are growing so fast is we have expanded our catering menu,” LoSchiavo said. “We offer appetizers, salads, sides, chicken, pork, pasta, stuffed cabbage, and of course, pizza. Every location we open is another outlet for our catering company.”
According to LoSchiavo, the most popular item on Antonio’s menu is traditional Italian sausage pizza.
“The sausage is our recipe which is made just for Antonio’s Pizza,” he said. “No one else uses our sausage. We make everything fresh daily. We grate our own cheese, which is a blend of two different provolones. We will not skimp when it comes to quality and freshness.”
Gourmet pizzas, including bruschetta, loaded potato skin, chicken Caesar, and a roasted artichoke and spinach pizza also are popular.
Additional menu items include antipasto, hot grinder subs, chicken, spaghetti, rigatoni, chicken parmesan and calzones.