A Standard-Bearer of Princeton Pizza Changes Hands; Victor's Is No More

Matthew Hersh

For 28 years, Victor's Pizza took a major slice of the business one would expect from a college town. Patrons would stop in for a bite at lunch, University students would order pies to buildings on campus that would stymie the delivery people (how does one get to 1941 Hall?), and high school students would trek there after school to, well, just hang out.

Before tears are shed, however, those who were devoted Victor's patrons can still partake in all those activities. It's just that it's not Victor's anymore ‹ it's Iano's.

Brothers Flavio and Gerry Buono decided to call it quits after 28 years with a handshake last Thursday.

"They were tired. They've been in the business for 28 years and it's a tough, tough business," said Arline Conigliaro, who, along with her husband, Iano, has taken the reigns in keeping the pizza business right in the center of town. "It's at least 12 hours a day and seven days a week, and that's a long time to stay in a successful business and it was time for them to start thinking about retiring."

The Buono brothers were not available for comment as of Tuesday evening.

Originally from Palermo, Sicily, Iano has been in the pizza business for 20 years, and he and his wife had been looking for a business to own.

"He's a self-made man, he came up through the business," Arline said.

The two emphasized that while they do not want to spread themselves thin they want to make the best of the situation in Princeton. No absentee owners here, she said, and no corporate funding. The couple did say, however, they are interested in making some structural changes on the inside.

Gone will be the pizza-colored booths, and the all-too-revealing mirror-clad walls. That linoleum floor will also be removed for something a little more "modern."

The couple plans to install black and white tile on the floor, and fill the walls with Sicilian proverbs. Iano is actually in the process of publishing a book of proverbs from Sicilian culture.

The book, The Man Who Came from Far Away, is a collection of 101 proverbs in Sicilian and English. The logo of Iano's Pizza is based on the proverb that named the book. "The picture is a logo of my husband coming from Sicily with his farmhouse in the background and a suitcase in his hand. Not to sound cliché, but this was a guy with 20 bucks in his pocket and this is where he is today."

But will the Princetonian faithful be able to endure the shock?

Around 8:15 a.m. on the Conigliaro's second day in business, a woman saw the new sign and reacted in a way that is, so far, not uncommon. Arline said she saw the woman's reaction from the other side of the glass, so imagine her surprise when she saw the shocked woman throw her hands to her face and "doing the Home Alone scream."

"It was just very emotional," Arline said grinning, "but she was very good-natured about it."

New Menu, Old Tricks

"You make Chicago pizza? There IS a God!" screamed one elated customer as the Conigliaros spoke outside their shop. The couple just returned from a pizza expo in Chicago and decided to bring some of what they learned back to their business. But the food will remain simple and solid, Iano maintained. While there will be a wider variety of pies, the sauce recipe, which he said gave Victor's pies its flavor, will remain the same. "Why change it?"

"Gallina vecchia fa' buon brodo," he mused. A Sicilian proverb, the adage literally means "Old chicken makes good soup."

It appears there is some truth in that, after all.