“Chef Salvatore” opens own pizza shop, serving authentic Italian pies and pasta
Courtesy of Salvatore Punturiero
Salvatore Punturiero
Punturiero said he learned to cook being around his mother, who cooked daily and twice a day on Saturdays. Growing up in Brooklyn gave him the know-how to create homemade pizza dough.
Courtesy of Salvatore Punturiero
By John Sacco
Salvatore Punturiero makes one thing clear about his new pizza and pasta shop: “If I don’t make it, I don’t serve it. (It’s) the same food I feed my family from Brooklyn and Italy – and it’s got to be good.”
“Chef Salvatore,” as some refer to him, has worked in restaurants from Florida to New York throughout his life.
He is a former co-owner of the Italian Village in Belle Vernon. His passion was to own a pizza and pasta shop of his own. Then the pandemic got in the way of his dream come true.
But “Salvatore’s Pizza and Pasta – Brooklyn’s Finest” came to be last fall.
“It’s my passion for cooking authentic Italian food that drives me,'” said Punturiero. “I have the knowledge of baking dough growing up in New York.
“My mother cooked every day, twice on Saturdays. I get enjoyment out of cooking. With the experience I have, cooking is just a big part of me.”
His shop features a variety of pizzas – including N.Y. thin crust and Sicilian thick square, among others. He also offers calzones and “Hero” sandwiches on half a loaf of Italian bread, salads, pasta and dinners, like chicken parmesan and chicken cutlet Milanese and a side of garlic parmesan bites: six fresh-baked dough, olive oil, garlic, parmesan and marinara.
“I could sit and eat those bites all day,” said one customer. “Those are bomb, so good. It’s fresh and delicious.”
Another satisfied customer, Shauna Jannotta Polefko, said, “We had the white and (N.Y. thin), and we really liked it. The environment is great, and everyone is friendly. You can tell it’s family-owned.”
Punturiero said most restaurants are cooking frozen food. It drives him crazy.
“I always had a desire to open a scratch kitchen, food and pizza,” he said. “How come no one cooks anymore? I don’t use microwaves. Hardly any restaurant is serving fresh food anymore. If the soup of the day wasn’t made today, it’s not the soup of the day. The old-school trade is lost on this generation.”
Rick Alcorn, a frequent customer, said the freshness and Chef Salvatore’s passion make it a special place.
“I like everything I’ve had there,” Alcorn said. “It’s so fresh, and nothing is deep-fried. Sal offers gluten-free. The pizza is great. His salad dressing is out of this world. I’ve had a lot of the food on the menu. It’s all good.”
Punturiero’s wife, Alexis, used to operate a dance school -Rostraver Dance and Gymnastics Academy – in the current building where Chef Salvatore is now living out his dream.
“When the pandemic hit, it retired my wife,” he said. “She was in business 20 years, and we were going to split the building so both her business and the shop would be under one roof.
“After the pandemic hit, I continued with my plan. It took more than a year with the equipment shortages and other things.”
Punturiero had to close for a month because of the consecutive deaths of his mother and Alexis’s mother.
While he reports his takeout business is good, and the dining room is sporadic but often well filled on Friday, he wants to continue pushing to be better and draw more people to his restaurant.
“I’m still trying to get it moving along,” Punturiero said. “We opened in October, and we’ve built a customer base. I still plan to have a soup of the day and daily specials. Some things got off track because of shutting down for a month and some delays.
“I am here every day starting at 7 a.m. I am excited about the response we have received, and we have regulars who come in for meatballs or fresh food they haven’t tasted before.
“We’re closed on the weekends so I can spend time with my family. One of the best days I have had here is just a few weeks ago when my son – Sal – was here on ‘Bring Your Child to Work Day.’ He was eager, and he worked all day. That was enjoyable.”
Salvatore’s Pizza and Pasta is located at 117 Scholl Lane, Rostraver Township. He offers catering services and online ordering. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the shop can be reached at 724-633-0174.