Few Lafayette institutions have seen as much growth and change in the Hub City as Alesi Pizza House.
The family restaurant, opened by Mariano Alesi in 1957, is now operated by Alesi’s grandson — also named Mariano. The building at 4110 Johnston Street has been bustling since the restaurant located there in 1962, when that section of Johnston Street petered out to the edge of Lafayette. Now, it’s one of the city’s busiest corridors — and the Alesi dining room still feels like stepping back in time, with diners who have made the restaurant part of their regular tradition for 69 years.
Alesi Pizza House is currently for sale for $1.4 million, and I knew I had to try it while this historic Lafayette spot is still around in its current form. According to the owners, it is business as usual at the restaurant until a buyer purchases the turn-key business, meaning that lovers of old school pizza and Italian staples can still enjoy lunch or dinner the way they remember.
Week day lunch specials at Alesi Pizza House at 4110 Johnston St., Lafayette, LA.
BY JOANNA BROWN | Staff writer
Alesi’s lunch specials are available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the menu represents one of the best lunch deals in Lafayette for price and variety. $8 salads and sandwiches, $10 for a 10 inch pizza, or $10 for a hearty bowl of pasta like fettuccine, lasagna or spaghetti and meatballs — it doesn’t get much better than that.
I went with an order of spaghetti and meatballs, with a side of pizza with ground beef topping. The generous portion of spaghetti, with a hearty meat sauce (the Alesis still use their original red sauce recipe), two meatballs and a side of garlic bread makes for a great deal at only $10. The pizza was a thin crust, my preferred style, with more of the signature sauce, perfect cheese coverage and bites of ground beef that tasted like it came out of a home kitchen. A crowd of regulars filled the dining room for an experience that hasn’t changed much over the decades — and that’s just the way they like it.
Spaghetti and meatballs from Alesi Pizza House in Lafayette, LA.
BY JOANNA BROWN | Staff writer
Once the building sells, a chapter will turn for Alesi Pizza House, one of Lafayette’s oldest family-owned, continually operating restaurants. Until then, memories are still being served at this local pizza spot.
Dining and Cooking