As if we needed any more evidence that pizza is essential, how about this: the Food Surveys Research Group says that 13% of Americans eat it on any given day. That statistic needs no explanation for most. Once the idea of pizza gets lodged in your head, trickling to your taste buds, nothing else will do. Locals and visitors alike have been finding pizza bliss—along with a wide selection of other Italian-inflected classics—at A Slice of Italy for six years. “My husband arrived as the bubbling pizza was being removed from the ovens! The crust of the pizza was crunchy and delicious—just perfect! We had a half-cheese, half-veggie, and then a meatball, mushroom and onion pizza. Both were amazing!” writes a Yelp reviewer, going on to praise plentiful salads and delicious, saucy wings. Another reviewer sums it up: “This is pizza you drive 300 miles to eat.”
To do pizza that well, you need to love what you’re doing, and customer after satisfied customer notes that Angelo and Marine DiPaola put that love into every move they make.
To do pizza that well, you need to love what you’re doing, and customer after satisfied customer notes that Angelo and Marine DiPaola put that love into every move they make. Angelo was just 12 when he arrived in New York with his family from Amarosi, Italy. They settled in Glasco, just outside of Saugerties. At a local party right after high school, he met a lovely young woman from nearby Lake Katrine.
When Angelo was 24, he purchased his first business, an arcade called Funway Amusement. “Funway Amusement was located in the Kings Mall, so we had places to eat,” he recalls. “But then we moved to a new location and were always trying to figure out what to eat. That's when the idea of opening a restaurant came about, to fill the need for us and our customers. We felt it would make a great marriage.”
With help from a local restaurant supplier, the couple opened Four Seasons Pizza in 1980. “We knew nothing about the business,” says Angelo. “To create the product we have today, it came down to trial and error. Being an independent entrepreneur is really interesting. You don’t have the support from a big corporation, so you learn on your own. But the best part is not having someone tell you how they want something done. You get to be creative.” With son Angelo now in on the fun, the DiPaolas are hoping they’ll soon be able to open a drive-through pizza business and simplify things. “We actually have our drive-thru pizza ready to open,” says the senior Angelo. “We started this before COVID-19, but then to order equipment and find employees has been a challenge. We are hoping the fall will bring changes to this. We are ready to go.”
Locals and visitors alike have been finding pizza bliss—along with a wide selection of other Italian-inflected classics—at A Slice of Italy for six years.
The right attitude means a lot, and the DiPaolas had that going for them from the start. “As the owner, as most owners do, you do whatever is necessary to accomplish your goal of operating a business and making your customers happy,” says Angelo. “We are not perfect, but we try to do our best.
We are very conscientious of our business and customers. We have always felt that you should treat your customers and your employees as your best friends.”
At A Slice of Italy, patrons can bask in that warmth knowing that the meal they’re about to receive will be something special. “People tell us our pizza is just like New York City pizza,” says Angelo, citing one of the ultimate Hudson Valley (or anywhere else) pizza place goals.
“And that our sauce tastes so good.” That sauce is made fresh daily, as are the restaurant’s soups. Meatballs are house-made, as are the marinara and cocktail sauces, and sausage is local, made across the river in Hudson. Veal is fresh; chicken is filleted, tenderized, and breaded in-house.
There are plenty of gluten-free and vegan selections on the menu, which offers pizza by the slice along with hot or cold subs, sandwiches, wraps, and grilled goodies.
“We are not perfect, but we try to do our best. We are very conscientious of our business and customers. We have always felt that you should treat your customers and your employees as your best friends.”
- Angelo DiPaola, owner, A Slice of Italy
Angelo and Marine got into the business world in the first place to provide fun, and life’s been a series of adventures ever since. Time off means boating on the Hudson or Lake George, long cozy brunches with family (there are six grandchildren now), cruising in the convertible, gardening, and making homemade wine and grappa, “a tradition I’ve passed along to my children from their grandfather,” Angelo says. But time running A Slice of Italy is cherished, too. “We really love what we do,” says Angelo. “The best part is, our friends come to see us all the time. It’s the interaction with customers that really makes every day special.”
A Slice of Italy
1316 Ulster Ave, Kingston
845-336-7115
asliceofitaly7115.com
