By Robert Scharf
Contributing Writer

The top corner of Main St. has hosted three different pizza places in the last three years with Luigi’s being now the fourth. They hope to win Kutztown over with their traditional pizza recipe.

In the beginning of the school year students returned to Kutztown noticing yet another pizza place on the same corner where Sal’s Pizza, Bone’s and Ray’s Pizza once stood. 

Owner Rosario Longo hopes to make the best of this location with handmade pizza from a traditional Brooklyn recipe, freshly brewed coffee and a large dining area that can be used by students and locals to relax and decompress. He hopes that his dedication to the business will set him apart from the failed shops before him.

Longo said his experience on the corner has been “an uphill battle,” and that it hasn’t been as easy as he initially thought it would be. 

In the months Luigi’s has been in Kutztown he claims that he has had much more support from the locals rather than the students. He also added that he can always count on the KU administration to come for lunch Monday through Friday.

KU student and Luigi’s customer Bianca Bissey said, “This place is different from the pizza shops before. The food is better quality, and the staff is nicer.” Bissey added, “I don’t know why there aren’t that many people in here. I feel like the corner just has a bad reputation.”

Luigi’s is named after Longo’s old business partner. He said he chose to keep the name because it is simple and still holds the old Italian feel. He wanted to name the restaurant something that anyone could pronounce.

Longo has been in the pizza business for 40 years, starting in Brooklyn. He has carried this “particular formula from New York” and said that his superior quality and daily made dough is what sets his business apart from the other pizza places in town.

The menu includes a wide array of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, dinners, desserts and, of course, pizza. 

Walking into Luigi’s, there is a room directly to the left that holds different types of coffee and stool seating. Longo explained that the room doesn’t get much use, and he is confused as to why. He said the room would be perfect for students who want to work on assignments or just hang out with friends, especially because the restaurant has free wifi. 

Currently, the back right of the restaurant is holding old booths that were used in prior establishments. Longo is unsure whether he wants to turn it into a quiet space for the locals to be separated from the students or create an environment for KU students.