Luca's Pizza Battles Orange Barrels on Darrow

Customers picking up orders from Luca’s Pizza have to dodge orange barrels to get to the eatery, which is smack in the middle of construction on Darrow Road at Kent Road.

The business is nearly surrounded by cones and orange barrels as the Ohio Department of Transportation wraps up a project to replace a 10-foot by 8-foot box drainage culvert beneath S.R. 91 right next to the pizzeria.

The work has not made a positive impression so far on Renato Serpico, the pizzeria’s owner.

“Business was cut in half last week” when the road was completely closed, Serpico said.

The section of Darrow Road between Kent Road and Thorndale Avenue was closed completely for five and a half days last week though access to Luca’s and other nearby businesses was maintained. The road reopened with lane restrictions Saturday.

Serpico said he’s more frustrated about promised finish dates for some elements of the work—like repaving the drive entrance for customers to his shop. Officials with ODOT told him that work would be done Monday, and as of Wednesday afternoon the work remained unfinished.

“We’re the little guy, and we’ve got to pay for it,” he said.

Sean Sheehan, the manager at Luca’s, said they’re grateful neighboring Marhofer Chevrolet has not stopped pizzeria customers from parking in their adjacent lot.

“Marhofer has been really nice and not complained about us using that lot,” Sheehan said.