Captain's Pizza Article Has Readers Talking

A recent Patch story about a longtime Safety Harbor restaurant having to close due to a number of health code violations drew strong responses from residents as well as patrons of Captain's Pizza.

Comments ranged in tone from compassionate to critical, with some people expressing regret over the news that the landmark pizzeria had to close and its owner, Steve Capitano, might have been injured during an attempt to rectify the violations.

Others were not so forgiving for the state of disrepair the eatery had fallen into in recent years.

Here is a sampling of comments on the topic from the article we ran on Safety Harbor Patch and a pizza poll as well as from our Facebook page. 

Well, I don't know why what has transpired here happened in the first place but clearly it's not good. It's a shame too. I bet everyone in town has been here at one time or another over the years. Some have been here regularly, I'm sure. My daughter worked here some 15 years ago. She never mentioned anything was amiss back then. Certainly Captains Pizza was a staple in this town all of these years. Yet another restaurant failure does not bode well, but then this failure would seem to be internal. A shame any way you look at it. I wish Steve good luck and get well soon. - Michael Rusch

I am so sorry to hear this, but can't say I am surprised. I love Captain's Pizza and order pizza from there regularly. Steve "Captain" is a great guy and makes the best pizza around. As the article says, he has been at this site for over 30 years. Unfortunately, I don't think he has made many improvements to the inside of the restaurant in quite some time and I have noticed a steady deterioration over the years. I asked him once why he didn't just retire and he shared that making pizzas was his life. This is what he loves to do. I wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery. - Valerie Nolte

Not surprise! - Georgia Leblanc

Very sad! - Terri Schirtz Burke on Facebook

Big brother clamping down... - Michael datsko on Facebook

Have any thoughts on what has happened to this Safety Harbor institution? Please let us know in the comments below.

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