Salerno’s Owner Says Goodbye With 300 Free Pizzas

STRATFORD, CT — Salerno’s Apizza owner Carlo Salerno celebrated his 80th birthday, and retirement, by making 300 free pizzas over the weekend.

Salerno’s customers were saddened by the abrupt closing last month after Salerno said he had planned to close it by his 80th birthday in July. The family has owned and operated Salerno’s for more than 75 years.

Salerno’s then announced that it would reopen for one day, July 8, to celebrate Carlo Salerno’s retirement and that he wanted to spend his 80th birthday by personally baking free Scamorza pizzas for everyone who stopped by to say goodbye.

There were long lines outside the restaurant at 1398 Barnum Avenue, and they ran out of pizza about an hour earlier than expected.

“I AM SPEECHLESS !!!” Carlo Salerno wrote in a post on Facebook after the event. “I cannot tell you how so very grateful me and my family are that sooooo many people showed up to wish me a Happy Birthday and Happy Retirement…..!!!

“Overwhelmed to put it mildly.

“Please give me a day or two to recover ( after all… I’m 80! lol ) and I will post some great photos .

“I estimated that if I made a pizza a minute …. from 4pm to 9pm… that would be 300 pizzas. Well, we did bake the 300 pizzas, but ran out at 8pm instead of 9pm.

“WHAT A DAY!!

“Kudos to the staff that worked Saturday! They all did a great job.”

Salerno also shared a video on Wednesday of what he said was the “crowning moment” for him when he went outside to thank the customers in line and they sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

To see photos and videos from the retirement celebration, visit Salerno’s Apizza on Facebook here.