At Regina’s Pizza, pies are cooked the old-fashioned way and the freshest ingredients are brought to life in one masterfully orchestrated symphony of flavors

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A family-friendly eatery, Regina’s Pizza offers classic arcade games, such as Pac-man and Donkey Kong, to entertain kids and adults alike. And on select Fridays there is live music and a caricature artist strolling around drawing portraits of diners. Pictured above L-R: Robert Catalano, owner/operator and his brother, Steve, the restaurant’s business consultant. (Photography: Benjamin Margalit)

By Laura Briedis

A staple in Akron for decades, Regina’s Pizza is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year doing what it does best: cooking food with true Italian flavor.

When best friends Louie Bamonte and Steve Catalano opened the first restaurant on Mogadore Road on the city’s east side in 1970, the menu fit on a business card. The original menu items consisted of pizza with choice of six ingredients, four sandwiches, steak fries, and spaghetti and meatballs. Fast forward 50 years and the appreciable menu now also features Chicken Philly and Chicken Parmesan sandwiches, calzones, lasagna, cavatelli, fried chicken and wings, salads and a dozen side dishes.

While new menu items have been added over the years, the homemade dough and sauce recipe—which has been passed down from generation to generation—has not strayed from the original.

“We cook the pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce from scratch every morning and let the sauces simmer for four hours, and the homemade dough is rolled by hand for each pizza order,” says Robert Catalano, one of Steve’s four children and Regina’s current owner-operator.

Sister Amy and brother Stephen also have a hand in the business. Their sister, Regina, the restaurant’s namesake, is a teacher in Texas but multitasks as the restaurant historian, who can recount all the details of the earliest years.

With family roots tracing back three generations to the Province of Palermo in Sicily, an island in southern Italy, the Catalano family is known for its decidedly authentic Italian fare.

A stark contrast to all of the national pizza chains scattered throughout the city, Regina’s Pizza makes everything in its own kitchen and uses the freshest ingredients.

Regina’s offers 19 ingredients you can choose to layer under cheese (pepperoni pictured above for the photo). There also are specialty pizzas, such as Jen’s Sweet & Spicy topped with ricotta cheese and hot honey, and the Stuffed Pepper Pizza made with a bit sweeter sauce and Italian Sausage stuffed with cream cheese, then topped with green peppers.

“We use 100 percent provolone cheese that we get in a big block and shred it ourselves every day,” says Robert, a Copley High School graduate. “We also use a thicker slice of premium pepperoni.”

There are 19 ingredients you can choose to layer under the cheese, including the newest two: ricotta cheese and fresh garlic cloves. There also are specialty pizzas, such as Jen’s Sweet & Spicy topped with ricotta cheese and hot honey, named after Robert’s wife, Jennifer, and the Stuffed Pepper Pizza made with a bit sweeter sauce and Italian Sausage stuffed with cream cheese, then topped with green peppers.

“We also have a crustless pizza,” says Robert. “Diners choose from a marinara, garlic butter or teriyaki sauce, up to three traditional toppings, and then we layer it in a bowl so people trying to curb their carbs can still enjoy everything they like on a pizza but in a bowl.”

Old-School Kitchen
This old-school pizza shop uses a three-deck stone pizza oven instead of the conveyor pizza oven (where the pie is put in one end and it moves through the oven slowly cooking) like most pizza chains use.

“There is more of an art form to cooking pizzas in a stone oven and masterfully shuffling them around for the perfect taste,” explains Robert. “This way of cooking pizza is what gives it an authentic look and taste. The crust has a fluffy consistency, yet the oven crisps it as well, so you get the best of both.”

“We can also better accommodate customers who have special requests, such as cooking the pizza light or well done.”

It’s not just the oven that makes the pizza so tasty. Many of the cooks and managers at Regina’s Pizza have been working there for decades, including a long-time employee who has been coming in every week for the past 30 years to hand roll the meatballs.

Just like they did back in the day, the staff cooks from scratch—still using the 60-quart Hobart mixer they brought over from the original restaurant’s kitchen.

Dine-In Pizzeria
When the pizzeria moved from its second location on West Waterloo Road in 2009 to its current location on East Avenue, the carryout pizza shop turned into a dine-in restaurant. With a mix of cozy booths and tables, the restaurant can seat up to 50 diners.

A family-friendly eatery, there are classic arcade games, such as Pac-man and Donkey Kong, to entertain kids and adults alike. On select Fridays there is live music and a caricature artist strolling around drawing portraits of diners.

“Local musician Robin Roseberry is one of our regular entertainers who delights with her songs, and we also host other acoustic performers throughout the year,” says Robert.

“We have created a fun place where families can spend time together,” he says, noting that when he was growing up, he and his siblings would often celebrate their birthdays in the restaurant because the entire family was always working in the kitchen.

Regina’s Pizza offers weekly and monthly specials, including a jumbo 18-inch, one-topping pizza for $15 on Fridays and Sundays, and salads for $6 on Saturdays. At the end of every month, there is a beat-the-clock special, in which a large, one-topping pizza’s cost is the same as the time you call in your order starting at 5 p.m.

“We have thrived for so long because we offer quality food, excellent service and reasonable prices,” comments Robert. “It is homemade goodness because of Louie and Steve.”

Regina’s Pizza is located at 2160 East Avenue in Akron. Hours are Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, noon-8 p.m. To order, call 330-753-7797. To check out the menu, visit ReginasPizza.com.