Loyal customers brave the wait for one last pizza at Vesuvio

Customers were willing to wait hours for one last pizza from Vesuvio, where some of them had been eating since childhood.

"The last week has been heart wrenching," wrote Paola Pugliese on Facebook. "The outpouring of emotion from customers and staff has been overwhelmingly touching, and I am grateful to hear kind words in this time of grief and mourning for this business that has been ever-present in my life since birth."

Paola is the daughter of Ettore and Piera Pugliese, and in her words, "the one who's been spearheading the operations at Vesuvio (with my aunt Rita - who is co-owner) the last several weeks while my dad has been in isolation at home and most specifically, during the last week since we announced our closure."

She spent Vesuvio's last day on April 19 taking food orders from people who apparently spent more than four and a half hours in line and who started lining up over four hours before the restaurant opened.

She says their head chef handed out cups of soup to those standing in line on the dreary day, and that two dining room managers came in to help out without being asked.

"The City helped us keep everyone safe by blocking off the curb lane outside Vesuvio and set up pylons every 2 metres, so that customers could easily maintain social distance," wrote Paola.

"We expected to be busy, but we never expected what transpired. The learning curve was dramatic, but every day we figured out how to do it a little bit better. Gauging the amount of supplies we'd need was equally as difficult as actually prepping them once they arrived."

One manager even had to drive out to Hamilton on Sunday morning to pick up cases of pepperoni. The most touching part of the story of Vesuvio's closing, however, is its last very special delivery.

"After we'd closed the doors to the public, we made the last pizza for my mom and dad," writes Paola.

"Secretly we drove in a 5-car caravan to their house and delivered the last Vesuvio pizza to their door. We rolled up flashing our high beams and paid our respects to the people who created the best and biggest family anyone could have the honour to be a part of."

by Amy Carlberg via blogTO