Good pizza and other pizza-adjacent cuisine is something to be cherished, and those in Fort Madison and the surrounding communities now have a delicious new option from a regionally familiar source.
The Italian’s Fort Madison restaurant, located at 615 2nd St., is still in their “soft-opening” phase, only serving pizzas and a couple pasta dishes for the time being.
But Pete Alfano, the owner of the restaurant, says that limited menu seems to be more than enough for customers right now.
“I missed 291 phone calls (from people trying to place orders) the other night,” Alfano told Mississippi Valley Publishing on Thursday.
“I can’t keep up with the demand.”
And that’s likely because pizza lovers in southeast Iowa already know what to expect when they order a pizza from The Italian.
Originally from Ottawa, Illinois, Alfano opened The Italian’s Burlington restaurant, located at 300 S. Leebrick St., in 2009 when he was just 25 years old.
But in November, Alfano announced he was opening the new Fort Madison restaurant in the building that used to host the old Austos Family Italian restaurant, and since October, Alfano has been working seemingly non-stop ever since to get the new location up and going, which has included installing new coolers, a new hood system, and other equipment and gear to hit the ground running.
With the help of his wife, Caralyn, who has been focused on running the Burlington restaurant as work continues to get the Fort Madison location fully opened, Alfano said he has been putting in a considerable number of hours to make it all happen.
“(Since I began trying to get this spot up and running), I’d get up at 6 a.m., take my kid to school, come (to Fort Madison), work all day until about 2 p.m., go to (the Burlington restaurant), stay until 10-11 p.m., seven days a week,” Alfano said.
“I think it’s just embedded in me,” he added, about his work ethic and drive.
“I won’t let nobody else do it, because I don’t trust nobody else. It’s gotta be me doing it, because this way I know it’s perfect.
“If you let somebody else do it, they’re going to do it their way, and that’s not my way.
“And my way is the right way, because my phone’s ringing off the board.”
Beside the pizza, which includes 24 different specialty options on original, pan and stuffed crust, Alfano is hoping to launch the restaurant’s full menu in two weeks, which will include steaks, prime rib, spaghetti, lasagna, homemade pastas, breads, other hand-tossed pizzas, submarine sandwiches, weekend seafood specials, a Sunday lunch buffet, and more.
“We’re just going to slowly add to the menu as we come out of our honeymoon period,” Alfano said.
“But the most popular thing we have on (our full, regular menu) is our Italian beef sub. We probably sell a thousand of those a week. It’s an authentic Italian beef. It’s not something you’re going to get at Arby’s.”
And Alfano says he inherited his trade from his grandfather, and it’s served him well thus far.
“(My pizza recipe was created by) my grandfather in the 1950s,” Alfano said.
“This recipe is like 87 years old now. My grandfather, that’s all he did was (make pizzas) for 50-60 years at Alfano’s Pizza in Ottawa. It’s still there. That’s where I grew up, running that place, learning everything with my Dad.”
On Friday night, The Italian Fort Madison officially began seating patrons for in-house dining in addition to delivery and pick-up options.
Between both restaurants, Alfano has a total of 19 employees working at both restaurants, with some of those staffers bouncing back and forth between the two locations as Alfano works to train them for both restaurants.
The Italian doesn’t have a website to place orders through, but delivery orders can be made at the Burlington location through DoorDash. Otherwise, orders need to be made over the phone or in person at the restaurant.
The two locations currently have nine delivery drivers.
But beyond Fort Madison, the new location will deliver to residents in Denmark, Donnellson, Montrose, West Point, Wever and across the river to Illinois in Nauvoo, Dallas City and Niota.
“We go everywhere (in the area), because nobody else does,” Alfano said. “Nobody else goes to these outlying communities. So why not corner that market? I’ll do it.”
Currently, The Italian Fort Madison is open from 4-11 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursday, 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays, and 4-9 p.m. Sundays (their number is 319-457-3939).
Beyond the two restaurants, Alfano said he is working to explore options to have his pizzas sold in the freezer aisle at supermarkets and in frozen pizza vending machines, which may end up in spots that include Iowa City and Chicago.
And Alfano said the key to his success has been his family and friends, as well as his customers.
“People support small business, I think, more than anything else,” he said.
“I’ve been supported since I’ve started. I’ve never had a complaint. I’ve got customers that have become like family. We’ve got customers that will do anything for us. People want to see you succeed…
“Pizza is all I’ve ever done. I’ve been self-employed since I was 15. I’ve never punched a time clock for anybody…I’ve never had to fill out a job application in 41 years, and I pride myself in it.”
Dining and Cooking