Consistency Is Key At Spizzico

This year, Spizzico will celebrate its fifth anniversary.

Since it opened its doors in College Parkway Center, the locally owned Italian restaurant has worked to get the daily grind down to a science.

“We know when everyone’s coming and going because of the area and the demographic in the area,” said co-owner Gino Romano. “If there’s a football game, if there’s a fifth quarter schedule, if there’s something [going on] — we know what to expect.”

Spizzico tends to stay connected to the area schools in a variety of ways, whether through sponsorships, the athletic teams or how the school schedule influences business.

“Every week, there’s some sort of fundraiser going on,” Romano said. “Usually a couple times a year, we do a spirit night for each school.”

In addition, Spizzico also sponsors local Little League baseball teams and Broadneck athletics.

Spizzico does very little advertising, Romano said, and any advertising is kept strictly local.

“I feel it’s way more effective to create a buzz with word of mouth in the community than it is to pay thousands of dollars of radio advertising or TV or print or whatever it may be,” Romano said. “I feel word of mouth travels fast, and once it does, it sticks more so than other advertising does. I’d much rather give back to the community. It keeps people coming back.”

To prove his point, Romano pointed out that Pizza Monday at Spizzico is widely known around the Broadneck peninsula, but it’s hardly ever advertised. On Mondays, Spizzico offers large pizzas for $8. On an average Monday, Romano said, Spizzico sells 500 pizzas.

“We’re breaking even on Mondays, but it’s become a thing people know: ‘It’s Monday, it’s pizza night, I don’t have to worry about what’s for dinner,’” Romano said.

In addition to Pizza Monday, Spizzico has a Sunday family deal: $28 feeds four. There are a couple of choices served family-style that are available for both dine-in and carry-out customers.

Over the last five years, Romano said he and his two business partners haven’t faced too many challenges or obstacles because all three of them grew up in the business. Romano and his childhood friends Sal Barone and Enrico Massa met in Monte di Procida, a town outside Naples, Italy.

They reconnected when they all found themselves living in the Arnold area — and they all used to live right around the corner from College Parkway Center, Romano said.

“We always said if something would become available in this shopping center, it would be a great location because of the very family-oriented type of area,” Romano said. “Everyone’s here for the school districts. Everyone’s on the same schedule. When something finally did come about, we took advantage of the situation.”

Spizzico is located at 1282 Bay Dale Drive in Arnold. It’s open from 11:00am to 10:00pm Monday through Friday and from noon to 9:00pm on Sunday. For more information, call 443-214-5121 or visit www.spizzicorestaurant.com.