Popular pizzeria Caruso’s celebrates milestone
The year Caruso’s Pizzeria (1104 Old Country Road, Riverhead) opened, “Blazing Saddles” was the top grossing movie, “All in the Family” ruled TV and Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” dominated the charts. Now in its 50th year, Caruso’s is still going strong and is still in its original location, thanks in large part to Gabriella Volpe, the second generation of Carusos to work the counter.
Ms. Volpe’s parents, Renato and Lidia Caruso, came to the U.S. in 1969 with modest ambitions: to make some money and then return to Sicily.
“My two uncles were here and they had said, opportunity, you know, the usual. So my parents came with two suitcases” Ms. Volpe said. “They were going to work a couple of years, make the money and return. That is not what happened.”
Initially, the Carusos pursued tailoring, making custom suits and doing alterations — just as they had in Italy. Lidia was not thrilled with living in Riverhead, having grown up in a larger city. “It was not what it is today; it was farms on farms,” Ms. Volpe said. “She was upset because they had come from the city in Sicily. My mom was from Syracuse and my dad was from Palermo.”
The couple did the best they could for the first few years. Eventually, Renato and his brother John ended up working for another gentleman at a restaurant in the location that would become Caruso’s. According to family lore, the owner took a liking to Renato, and the brothers bought the restaurant, renaming it Caruso’s.
“When they bought, it was just pizza mostly, heroes and things like that. Around the early ᾽80s, Uncle John left to do other things and my mom jumped in. For 20-something years, my mom was the cook and my dad was the pizza man,” said Ms. Volpe.
As is often the case in family businesses, Ms. Volpe ended up working for her parents at Caruso’s as soon as she could do the work. She sometimes fantasized about getting a job somewhere else, away from her family, but never acted on it. “I started when I was 13, waiting tables and stuff. At first it was cool and then you know, as I went through my high school years, I thought maybe I would go to work at the Gap or whatever. And I just never did. I was in here with them for a long time. It was just the three of us and whatever employees we had. My parents worked really hard … It’s not easy working with your parents. My mother is very strict, strict and stubborn, so that was not easy. But I never really wanted to go get a job somewhere else,” she said.
After high school, she left for college, but still returned over the summer breaks. She got her master’s and began teaching Spanish. Still, the restaurant exerted a pull on her, and she helped out when she could.
When her father fell ill, Ms. Volpe stepped in to manage Caruso’s. At the time, she was also working for the school district to try and get back into teaching. She credits her staff for helping her during that transition.
“The pizza man that I have now who’s also like my manager, he’s very involved, and thank God … he helped me a lot … without my staff I would be at zero,” said Ms. Volpe. Updates like accepting credit cards and working with food delivery services have modernized the business. Ms. Volpe has also made changes to the décor to give the interior a simpler aesthetic. The mural of the boats is still in place. Next to it hang some accolades from local publications and a pizza paddle celebrating the restaurant’s 50th anniversary.
The work she began as a teen helped Ms. Volpe build deep bonds with her community. Residents remember her from her early time there. There are also new faces, and she works hard to forge new connections.
“A lot of people came back because they found out that I was back, you know, the family, the actual Caruso,” she said. “They remember me from when I was a little kid. I still know everybody’s name, so I ask about the dog, the things they’re doing, whatever, and people look for that. That, to me, is hospitality,” she said.
Despite the strangeness of going from teacher to restaurant owner, Ms. Volpe is content in her new situation and looking forward to many more years. “I’m happy to be doing this. People say, ‘Oh, you’re doing it for your dad’ and I am kind of doing it for the family name or whatever. But at the same time, I just I feel that since I’ve been successful, I’m proud of myself. I try to put my best efforts forward all the time. You know, because that’s what my parents did.”
