DeLorenzo's The Burg Pizza
Since opening DeLorenzo’s The Burg Pizza in February, owner Tyler DeLorenzo’s grandfather, Americo, has been in every week for some of the family’s famous tomato pies.
“He’s very happy,” Tyler, 23, said of the man who helped put the DeLorenzo family’s Trenton Tomato Pie recipe on the map. “He walks out with a smile on his face.”
Making his grandfather happy – and proud – is a high compliment for Tyler, a third-generation pizza maker who learned the pie-making ropes while working alongside not only his grandfather, but his uncle as well. He spent five years working at the family’s Hamilton Avenue location in Trenton, doing everything from bussing tables to washing dishes, running registers and making pies.
“I was proud to work for my family,” he said. “I always just had fun.”
Tyler transplanted the locally famous pizza recipes and a nod to “The Burg,” the Italian section of Chambersburg, into his Falls Township eatery.
People “cross reference that with good food from Trenton,” Tyler said of his family’s name. “My family has a good reputation.”
His cousin is planning to open DeLorenzo’s Tomato Pies in Lower Makefield and other family members continue to operate locations in New Jersey. Still, he said, the restaurants are not a chain as each one is slightly different.
Tyler, who graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City with a degree in Culinary Management and Culinary Arts, initially ventured out on his in May 2016 with a food truck, DeLorenzo’s On the Go. He continues to operate the truck at events in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. By December 2016, Tyler stumbled across a vacant space, which previously housed a pizza shop in the Vermilion Square Shopping Center.
“Everything was here,” Tyler said from one of the restaurant’s newly remodeled red booths. “Everything became mine. I could’ve opened just the way it was.”
Instead, he repainted, installed new flooring and lined the walls throughout the 125-seat eatery with old-timey black-and-white family photos. Not your typical pizza joint, a host or hostess wearing a white dress shirt and bowtie greets, seats and serves customers at DeLorenzo’s The Burg Pizza.
“You’re getting pizza served to you with a bowtie,” Tyler said, noting his grandfather’s influence. “My grandfather always wanted a nice, clean, classy place.”
The main attraction at Tyler’s restaurant is his grandfather’s staple – Tomato Pies.
“The pie definitely is different,” he said of the thin, crispy crust, and chunky, sweet tomato sauce. “There’s more tomato than cheese.”
DeLorenzo’s The Burg Pizza’s one-page menu also features a few salads, soups, sandwiches and desserts. Tyler said he may add Italian hot dogs – hot dogs with peppers and potatoes – as well as a few more sandwiches and possibly special dinners.
“I’m not going to stray away from my menu at all,” he said. “My grandfather did just pies for 50 years. People like the short menu. They know everything is fresh.”
To learn more
DeLorenzo’s The Burg Pizza is in the Vermillion Square Shopping Center, 8919 New Falls Road in Levittown. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. The restaurant is available for hosting parties. Catering and takeout are available. For more information visit www.DelosTheBurg.com or call 215-943-2605.
parties. Catering and takeout are available. For more information visit www.DelosTheBurg.com or call 215-943-2605.