Popular Pizzeria To Open In New Greenwich Location

GREENWICH, CT — After months of preparation, Planet Pizza, the Fairfield County, family-owned pizzeria chain, will officially open in a new location in Greenwich on Friday.

The pizzeria had operated out of 28 Railroad Ave., for a number of years, but the impending train station redevelopment project caused the business to look elsewhere.

Planet Pizza stayed open on Railroad Avenue until last Friday, but started the transformation of the new pizzeria at 139 W. Putnam Ave., in February.

The space was formerly occupied by offices.

"We're very excited," said Sam Silva, who owns Planet Pizza storefronts in Greenwich and Stamford. "It's a different part of town, even though it's so close [to the old location]."

The new spot is roughly the same size as the old — about 1,200 square feet. There are 10 seats or so inside, but Silva said there are plans to add more in the future.

The menu and employees will remain the same, Silva said, but the biggest difference will be the parking.

On Railroad Avenue right across from Greenwich Avenue, customers and delivery drivers had to navigate heavy traffic and small, limited parking spaces.

Since Planet Pizza is now in the same shopping center as Stop & Shop, there is plenty of convenient parking and even a couple of 10-minute stalls dedicated to Planet Pizza pickup.

Silva said he hopes the improved parking can speed up the turnaround time for deliveries since drivers won't have to spend five to 10 minutes looking for a space to park to run in and grab more orders.

Planet Pizza was founded by Joe, Mike and Frank Rocco, who have a combined 100-plus years of pizza-making experience, according to their website. The brothers grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., and spent a lot of time at their family's pizzeria.

The menu features an array of Italian dishes, from appetizers and salads, to entrees, sandwiches and of course, pizza. Planet Pizza says their dough is made in each store using a generational recipe, and the sauce is made from ripe California tomatoes, fresh basil, and they use aged whole milk Wisconsin mozzarella made from a proprietary recipe.

Besides Greenwich, there are Planet Pizza locations in Stamford, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Fairfield, Westport, Shelton, Danbury, and White Plains, N.Y.

This year will mark eight years for Silva as owner of Planet Pizza Greenwich. The support from the community has meant a lot to him.

"It's been amazing. We're very excited to have the community support us and come over to the new location. Everything is brand new," Silva said. "It means a lot to me that I'm able to continue my business."

Planet Pizza Greenwich will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.