Angelo's Pizza opens new location in Camden County

Sal Cusumano grew up working in South Jersey pizza shops run by his father and two uncles.

He also has fond memories of going to his grandfather’s place, Riccardo’s Pizza, when it was at the old Willingboro Plaza. Little Sal would listen to the jukebox.

“I wasn't old enough to work at my grandfather's pizzeria but as a child I would visit," he recalls.

"My favorite thing to do was to eat pizza and play ‘I just called to say, I love you’ by Stevie Wonder on the jukebox. Let's just say my grandfather spent a lot of coins in that jukebox to keep me entertained.”

These days, Cusumano has his own shop called Angelo’s Pizza. He and his wife recently relocated their shop from Berlin to West Berlin.

Cusumano had originally purchased Frank’s Time Out in Berlin in 2012 and converted it into Angelo’s Pizza, making it his first owned location.

But after 11 years of paying rent in a shopping center with access challenges, he and his wife Stefania decided it was time to move Angelo's Pizza into their own building.

The address is 168 Haddon Avenue, unit 1.

“My wife and I put our blood, sweat and tears into this building," Cusumano said. "It's been a long journey to get here but it was all worth it, the day we opened our doors.

“My wife and I wanted our new building to represent West Berlin and make the residents proud. We are honored to be a part of the fabric that makes West Berlin so special.”

Pizza is all in the family

Sal Cusumano shared that his paternal grandfather, Salvatore Cusumano, came to Brooklyn from Sicily in the early 1960s. After working in construction, he opened Riccardo’s Pizza in Brooklyn with his brother-in-law Giacono Sparacio. In the 1970s.

“In 1971, the brothers-in-law moved their families out of Brooklyn and settled in Cinnaminson,” said Cusumano.

“Along with their nephew Vito Balsamo, they opened Riccardo’s Pizza in the Willingboro Plaza and soon after in the JFK Plaza (in Willingboro). The trio would go on to open many different Riccardo’s locations around South Jersey.

Sal’s father, Anthony Cusumano, joined the family business and opened Angelo’s Pizza in Riverside in 1982, along with Anthony's brother Pino Cusumano.

Anthony and his brothers, including Rich Cusumano, went on to open more locations.

Today, in addition to the younger Cusumano’s store in West Berlin, Angelo’s Pizza has locations in Riverside and Voorhees. Two Mount Laurel locations the family started are no longer affiliated with them.

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“I worked at both locations in Mount Laurel, while growing up,” Sal added. “Started as a bus boy at the age of 9 and gradually worked my way up the ladder.”

Looking to the future in the pizza business

His grandfather, after retiring, spent his days with his sons at the Mount Laurel stores. Sal treasures the memories he has of working alongside his grandfather, who died in 2017.

“He taught me the importance of making a quality pizza and to never waver from using quality ingredients,” he said.

Sal worked for his family up until 2009, then used his college degree to land a job in corporate America. He worked in marketing/sales for Grande Cheese, the cheese company his family used at the pizza shops.

“Combined with working for my family and then with Grande Cheese, I felt the time was right for me to go into the family business and open my own pizzeria,” he said. “As a first-generation American, it was important to me to be the first in my family to go to college and to open my own business as well.

“I'm still young and now have the honor to set up the next generation. I am currently working on a new pizza concept in Collingswood that I am super passionate about. I hope to have it off the ground and running next year. Pizza is one of those foods that brings people together.”

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Angelo's Pizza opens new location in Camden County