Nicolitalia Pizzeria in Provo, Utah is the product of a storybook family legacy, an American dream, and a daily fight of any local business for surviving.
As a young man, Nicola DellaCioppa Sr. and his family emigrated from Naples, Italy to the United States in 1967. Nicola Sr. began working in food service when he was 16 years old. He began to realize his dream to own and operate his own Italian pizzeria restaurant by starting as a dishwasher in the cafeteria of an all girls’ college, ultimately becoming the cafeteria’s head chef.
In 1971, Nicola Sr., with his wife Mary at his side, opened the Nicola Pizza House in Arlington, MA. With their hard work, dedication, and passion to succeed, they utilized original recipes passed on from their mothers’ original tasty creations. Their pizzeria became an instant success.
Nicola Sr.’s brothers helped with the restaurant in its early days before moving on to open their own pizzerias. Nicola Sr. and Mary raised their children, Deanna and Nicola Jr. (Nick Jr.), in the business. They instilled their passion for serving the public with the finest authentic Italian food and pizza into the next generation of their family.
When Nick Jr. grew into a young man, he attended Utah State University for a couple years before he returned to Boston to finish his college education. Nick Jr. enjoyed his time in Utah so much that he dreamed of the day that he could return to make Utah his home.
In 2005, Nick Jr. returned to Utah and decided to carry on the family tradition by opening his own pizzeria restaurant here in Provo. The name Nick chose for his restaurant, Nicolitalia Pizzeria, is a fusion of his family’s business and his true Italian heritage.
Nick worked 24x7 to bring good food to the Utah valley, but paid a big price. In 2012 he sold Nicolitalia and went home.
When we started looking for a business to buy, we looked for a restaurant with good food, good location, and potential. When we found Nicolitalia we noticed it was not in a good location, and it was losing money. But when we tried the food, we knew this was the place; the crust, the house dressing, everything. Nicolitalia Pizzeria’s food is as unique as its name.
When we decided to invest at Nicolitalia, we ask Nick to help and went over each recipe to be sure everything was being done the Nicks way.
Nick went home to relax while we decided to continue with his legacy. But as a partner as he is, once in while he will be called and you will see him at Nicolitalia coaching the crew to assure to customers that Nicolitalia’s food keeps its uniqueness.
The cannolis, a favorite Italian dessert at Nicolitalia Pizzeria, are made with a homemade blend of ricotta cream wrapped in a pastry shell imported from the Boston area. Nicolitalias dough and pizza sauces are all homemade; every tasty dish that is served to customers is freshly made to order.
We, the Bruno’s family, are immigrants like Nick’s parents, pursuing the American dream. Nicolitalia is not a franchise pizzeria but a family owned and operated local business in the Utah valley. The new Nicolitalia is a fusion of a great partnership, family business, and Italian heritage.
Nicolitalia Pizzeria is no fast food joint, but its legendary great taste is well worth the wait!