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Salvo's Pizzabar

Opening Hours
Today: 11am–10pm
Wed:
11am–10pm
Thurs:
11am–10pm
Fri:
11am–10:30pm
Sat:
11am–10:30pm
Sun:
11am–10pm
Mon:
11am–10pm
Location
1477 York Avenue
Salvo's Pizza Bar 1 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East

When I peeked my head inside the space under construction next door, I did not get much past "hello" before Joe invited me into Salvo's and insisted that I have something to eat. It was here, while devouring my amazing slice of pizza with warm creamy ricotta and spinach, that I was introduced to the three Inzerillo brothers. I asked them to join me at the table and encouraged them to share their story. There is always one to tell whenever members of a family are in business together.

The brothers' parents are from Sicily, but came to New York decades ago and owned several restaurants and pizza places before returning to Italy in 2004. Growing up, Joe, Sal and Rosario always helped in their father's businesses, never believing that they, too, would be running an Italian restaurant one day. Although none of them are "real" cooks, they grew up memorizing both their mother and grandmother's recipes - and it is from these special dishes that the menu for Salvo's was created.

Once out of school, the boys began their separate careers, but one by one they found themselves on York Avenue running a pizza shop that has been on this corner for some forty years. Sal told me that he was the last to join his brothers in 2012 when they took over the lease. "I waited until they had it up and running," he admitted. Today, they each have their own responsibilities and strengths - Joe said that he is the "people person," therefore he "runs the operations," and is the "hospitality" guy. His brother Sal is in charge of marketing and Rosario is the in-house manager. Together they "pride themselves on being a warm and friendly family business."

While sitting at Salvo's around three o'clock on a weekday, I witnessed the entire restaurant fill up with enthusiastic little ones eager for their afternoon pizza fix. Within minutes, every table was spoken for as parents and nannies sat down with children who had recently gotten out of school. It was at this point that Joe spoke up and declared, "We love what we do, but wouldn't if it wasn't in this neighborhood." The brothers truly believe that the Upper East Side is the best place to live and work. As proof, two of them reside above the restaurant.

While out walking with my husband one beautiful weekend afternoon, I suggested stopping by Salvo's. It had been a very long time since I sat down with him to have a traditional slice of pizza straight from the oven. It conjured up an overdose of childhood memories from when we were growing up together on Long Island. We reminisced about how frequently we visited the local pizza parlor and recalled that a slice had been just 25 cents. The only difference that we found in 2015 on the corner of 78th Street and York Avenue was the price. The slices that we ate were made with old-fashioned tomato sauce, gooey cheese and a crust that was as perfect as we remembered. Needless to say, we were a very happy couple to have relived this treat together.

Location
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Salvo's Pizza Bar 1 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East
Salvo's Pizza Bar 2 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East
Salvo's Pizza Bar 3 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East
Salvo's Pizza Bar 4 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East
Salvo's Pizza Bar 5 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East
Salvo's Pizza Bar 6 Italian Pizza Upper East Side Uptown East

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