At 12:30 in the afternoon, a half hour before Sal”™s Pizzeria”™s 50th anniversary party was supposed to start, a line had already snaked from the front door up Mamaroneck Avenue. The line was two-, three- and four-people wide past seven storefronts, past the wide windows of Robert”™s Army and Navy and to O”™Neil”™s Country Store.
The owners of Sal”™s, which occupies an unassuming mid-block spot in the bustling heart of the village of Mamaroneck”™s downtown, had for weeks been preparing for an Aug. 24 block party that would close down a section of the village”™s main thoroughfare. The pizzeria would offer slices for 50 cents apiece ”“ one penny for each year in business ”“ and cook only plain, Sicilian and salad slices for the day. Turns out the crowds came early and the DeRose family, which owns the eatery, knew it would be a long day.
Mayor Norman Rosenblum came by with his 50 cents and a proclamation from the village. Rosenblum, 70, said he still remembers when Sal DeRose first opened up shop. Although the business has grown, Rosenblum said, the slice remains mostly the same.
“The only thing that”™s changed is the color of his hair and the amount of hair,” said Rosenblum, who has white hair and wears glasses. “I can relate to that, because I have the same problem, but I still enjoy the pizza.”
Out in front of the store, on what is on most days premium diagonal metered parking spaces, Sal”™s handed out Italian sausage-and-peppers half-sandwiches for free. Over the course of the four-hour block party, the pizzeria would cook 450 pounds of sausage and peppers. There were Italian ices, cotton candy, a mobile arcade and an inflatable obstacle course for the kids.
Neighboring restaurants chipped in for the block party too: Roasted Peppers, a neighboring restaurant, grilled ribs, 360 American Grille, located down the street, cooked hot dogs. (The total count cooked for the day was 525).
It was a hell of a party, according to Michael DeRose, one of Sal”™s three sons, but it wasn”™t about revenue.
“We didn”™t make any money,” he said later. “We actually lost money. I think it was a ”˜thank you”™ to the community.”
Sal DeRose immigrated to the U.S. from his native Italy in 1956. He started work as a dishwasher in a restaurant in the Bronx and eventually started flipping pies for a pizzeria in Yonkers. By the time he opened SalӪs in 1964, he had perfected the art of the traditional New York slice. The original pizzeria was two storefronts down from its current location, in what is now Caf̩ Mozart, but moved into its new spot in 1970. The entryway in the current location leads you to a lengthy pizza counter that spans a corridor leading to seating in the back. The long counter keeps the lines moving during the lunch and dinner rushes.
DeRose is retired today, with his sons Sal Jr., Michael and Stephen now running the day-to-day operations. All three worked at the pizzeria growing up. Their father “hammers” the younger generation about focusing on customer service and using only the best ingredients. Stephen DeRose said his father still comes into the shop every once in a while to “bark” at the kids. “He”™s old school,” Stephen DeRose said with a laugh.
Sal”™s is considered by many locals to be some of the best pizza on the Sound Shore and in all of Westchester County. The secret, the DeRoses said, is as easy as simple and fresh quality ingredients. A little old-country know-how on how to make a tomato sauce doesn”™t hurt, nor does having New York water to make dough, which many attribute to the pizza quality in the tri-state area (the DeRoses hesitate to credit the water, but instead say it”™s all about the recipe ”“ the pizzeria has used the same supplier for nearly its entire existence).
The pizza industry has seen a shift in recent years, with gourmet and artisanal pizzas cooked in Naples-made brick ovens and covered with quirky toppings. Sal”™s remains no-frills in its recipe or its adherence to the old cast-iron, served-on-a-tray cheese slice aesthetic.
“We don”™t make pies with chocolate chips and all of that,” Stephen DeRose said. “We want to emphasize what we”™re good at.” Ask the DeRoses and they will recommend the Sicilian slice as a thing of beauty (Stephen said: “The dough is consistent, it”™s not too chewy, it”™s not too fluffy.”) The salad pizza, complete with homemade Italian dressing, has been a menu staple for 20 years, when “salad pizza” was still a revolutionary concept in the area ”“ “it”™s salad and pizza at the same time!”
It”™s not that Sal”™s is resistant to change, though. Two years ago, the pizzeria introduced a ham and pineapple pie. Seven years ago, it expanded into the building next door that is also owned by the family to open a gelateria. The gelato, which is Italian-style ice cream, has been called some of the most authentic available in the county.
People from the area who move away miss Sal”™s when they leave. The pizzeria gets calls from those who return to Mamaroneck and make a return to Sal”™s a priority. “They call right from the airport,” Michael DeRose said. And the pizzeria charges $2.25 for a regular slice and $2.75 for its Sicilian ”“ meaning a night out with the family can still come in at 30 bucks total.
At the end of the block party, the DeRoses were ready to close after a long day when the phone rang. It was Joe Torre, a regular customer when he managed the New York Yankees. He wanted to pick up a pie, but the pizzeria was closed. Torre had his uniform No. 6 retired by the Yankees the day before the party and was dropping his daughter off at NYU during the actual celebration. Besides, this was Joe Torre, who had overseen four World Series championships. They made one last pie for the day.
Still, despite having fans with some star power such as Torre and Mamaroneck’s Dillon brothers, Kevin and Matt, it”™s the average Joe that is most important, Michael DeRose said. “I think the customers are our stars,” he said.
