Business Profile: Bellizzi, Mount Kisco
If you were a customer of Bellizzi but haven’t been back in a few months, you would notice some changes in the MountKisco pizzeria and restaurant.
The size of the store has been reduced from 5,300 square feet to about 3,600 square feet. One of the restaurant’s two dining rooms features original murals painted on the walls of a variety of sea animals. Bellizzi is also offering some new dishes.
Despite the changes, Bellizzi remains a family restaurant that still provides its customers with old menu favorites.
For Bellizzi (the Italian word for beautiful), which was opened in April 1991 by Mount Kisco resident Isi Albanese, change is nothing new.
“Being here for so many years, we probably had to reinvent ourselves many times,” Albanese said. “It’s still a good size.”
One of the key reasons for the space reduction was economic. With a still challenging business environment, it was difficult to pay about $20,000 in monthly rent, roughly double what Albanese paid in 2006. Albanese and his landlord, 330 Realty, worked out an arrangement where he relinquished a portion of the space in exchange for lower rent.
“One of our dreams is to have Bellizzi still be here for my kids’ kids,” said Albanese, who has three sons, John, Frankie and Joseph.
Albanese also owns a deli, Grand Central Market in Somers, and Frannie’s Goodie Shop, a candy and frozen yogurt store in MountKisco, the RidgeHillShopping Center in Yonkers and the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.
Albanese also added a slide for young children and sofas for parents to sit and relax while their children play in the game room.
“We’re still family oriented,” he said.
Bellizzi’s menu has also been revamped. Some of the changes restore some old favorites that had been retired while introducing new dishes. One of the new menu items is Fresca, featuring pancetta and fresh tomatoes and basil, garlic and Reggiano and fresh mozzarella cheeses.
“Everything is homemade here,” Albanese said. “My father (Pasquale), who’s 85, still comes in three days a week and he makes the fresh mozzarella.”
Albanese even does some of the cooking at Bellizzi.
The restaurant’s best-selling pizza, Brooklyn Pizza, is still on the menu. It consists of tomatoes, basil and fresh mozzarella on ultra-thin and crispy crust.
“People love that pizza just because it is very light and served with fresh mozzarella,” he said.
Though there are new pizzas for patrons to try, including a bacon, chicken and ranch sauce creation, the top-selling pizza is simply the regular cheese, Albanese said.
“One thing that I learned back in ’91 when we first opened is that you don’t change your recipe. You don’t change your mozzarella and you don’t change your sauce,” Albanese said.
Aside from great food, Albanese remains committed to the community. The restaurant regularly donates food and gift certificates to schools, has sponsored a Little League team for many years and has taken part in various fundraisers.
“I don’t think we’ve ever said no,” Albanese said.
Why has Bellizzi been so successful with not only customers but with staff as well?
“It’s a special place here,” Albanese said. ‘It’s family. A lot of our customers have been here for years. It’s consistency. It’s just caring about the customers and the product.”
Bellizzi is located at 153 E. Main St. in MountKisco. For more information, call 914-241-1200 or visit www.bellizzifood.com.
