A local favourite restaurant is closing its doors after 60 years. Nestled in the heart of downtown Barrie, Pizzeria Italia on Mulcaster Street, a family-owned and operated restaurant that’s served families through generations, is hanging up the rolling pin. It’s has been a staple in Barrie’s downtown, an area that’s been so transient and changing over time with businesses coming and going. But Pizzeria Italia has been a mainstay. One of the reasons it’s stuck around for so long is family. Owner Angelina Genovese says the restaurant has been passed through the generations, with her parents opening it originally. The feel for Pizzeria Italia has always been one of family. “We just had customers come in and they’d continue to come in and they’d bring in their families and their families would bring in their families,” says Genovese. When the establishment opened in 1966, Genovese says there weren’t a lot of restaurants in Barrie and hers was the first Italian one in the city. “It was always such a family environment,” says Genovese. Several family members worked there over the years. In fact, so many did that when they had a family reunion recently, Genovese says everyone who was there worked at the restaurant at some point in their lives. Even Genovese herself worked there as a kid. It was a known fact in the family, that once they were old enough to work or if any of the family members needed a job, Pizzeria Italia was always there to employ them. “That’s the base of what kept us going,” Genovese says. And she says, of course, “because the food is awesome.” Pizzeria Italia operated as a sit-down family restaurant until the COVID-19 pandemic, when operations turned to take-out only. Since then, Genovese says it’s been tough financially to keep it going. Plus, she’s the last of the family who’s there. With just her and her kids now, she says it’s a different time and running a business is harder now. And while it’s been difficult, there’s one thing that’s kept it afloat. “It’s my heart that’s kept this place going for the last five years,” says Genovese. Genovese says this hasn’t been a decision she’s taken lightly, but rather a year in the making. So, what’s next for her? Well, she may not be ready to give it all up just yet. “A part of me doesn’t want to stop making the food,” Genovese says. She tells CTV News she’s just not sure what the future would look like. What she does know is she’s not selling the business – just the building. For now, you may want to stop in for some of the restaurant’s signature and most popular dishes, which Genovese says are the deluxe pizza and meatballs. The establishment will stay open until Sept. 10.
