Italian Delight owners say farewell — at least for now
Italian Delight owners say farewell until new location is found
RIDLEY TOWNSHIP » Emotions ran high over the weekend as customers stopped by Italian Delight at 2600 MacDade Boulevard for a final taste of their favorite pizza or other special menu item. After Sunday, the restaurant, which has served customers for almost half of a century, closed its doors — at least for now.
“We will be back,” vowed Nick Guardavaccaro, who owns the restaurant with his father Gino. “We are searching for a new location to reopen with the same family recipes and the same friendly service that our customers expect from Italian Delight.”
The restaurant has been a longtime Delaware County favorite. Local social media pages were abuzz with memories and sentiments about the beloved eatery during the past few weeks as word spread of its impending closure.
Gino Guardavaccaro founded Italian Delight in 1979 at the MacDade Mall. The ristorante was located on the Woolco/ Kmart right side of the mall. At the time, the pizzeria was one of the few places to eat in the mall. Shoppers would stop by to grab a slice and local families would gather routinely for lunch or dinner.
Gino immigrated to America in 1972 from Mola di Bari in Italy’s Apulia region. The young immigrant arrived in New York and quickly learned the art of pizza making. He opened seven pizza locations in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania before Italian Delight in Delaware County.
Italian Delight was the only ristorante which the young entrepreneur kept and expanded. Gino and his wife Isabella settled in Springfield, where they raised their three children, Nicky, Tina, and Vito. The Guardavaccaros now also have five grandchildren.
When Italian Delight first opened, the MacDade Mall was thriving. Being across from the bustling mall’s movie theatre was an extra bonus for customers to pair a meal and a movie. There was often a line waiting to get a table in the popular restaurant that quickly gained a reputation for offering good Italian food at reasonable prices.
Italian Delight grew a loyal customer base by offering traditional, hand-tossed pizza, homemade Italian specialty dishes, pasta, strombolis, calzones, soups, sandwiches, and much more. When asked what their most popular dishes are, the father and sons answered pizza, lobster ravioli, Della Casa Soup and Baked Ziti.
“Our sauces alone are popular, but all our food is exceptional,” Nick explained. “Everything is fresh and cooked to order. Pizza is hand tossed and that’s becoming a lost art. We never skimped on anything. Our food tastes so good, customers always came back, again and again.”
“Sometimes I fall asleep thinking I am tossing pizza,” laughed Vito. “Customers like the restaurant’s consistency and the familyoriented atmosphere — they know they will come in here and get the same good food and service, time and time again. It has been my father’s legacy.”
In 2003, Italian Delight acquired a liquor license which amped up the pizzeria’s appeal even more.
“Our customers loved that they could come in and have a beer or glass of wine with their pizza or dinner,” Nick said.
In 2006, the MacDade Mall was getting ready to revamp and decided not to renew the leases of its tenants. Gino made the decision to stay in the area to keep his loyal customers and, in 2007, Italian Delight moved across MacDade Boulevard, into a freestanding building that formerly housed a Pizza Hut restaurant.
“My father had to restructure the entire business when he was 55 years old,” Nick said. “I give him a lot of credit. It wasn’t easy.”
“My dad is a true pioneer,” added Vito, proudly. “He shows that with hard work and dedication you can accomplish anything. He is living proof of that. We couldn’t be more blessed to have a father who came to this country as an immigrant and built an empire. He is a true pioneer.”
Italian Delight continued to flourish. Customers happily came across the street and the customer base grew even more at its new visible location. The restaurant served anywhere from 75-250 customers each day, and Gino and his family worked 24/7 to keep up with the pace. But, then the pandemic hit.
Although Italian Delight weathered through the stressful time, thanks to its dedicated employees and customer loyalty to its take-out business, a combination of other factors brought about the decision to close. The owners say issues with the landlord, difficulty in acquiring new staff, and skyrocketing wholesale food costs all factored into their decision to close the location. Still holding the liquor license, Nick said he plans to reopen as soon as a new location for Italian Delight is found.
“What’s Ridley, without an Italian Delight?” he asked rhetorically with a chuckle.
Nick has been working at the restaurant since he was 12 years old and says his heart is in it to continue his father’s legacy, with the same recipes and the same friendly service.
“Wholesale prices of food have gone up so high that we do not feel right charging our customers these exorbitant prices,” Nicky said. “We stopped selling chicken wings and a few other foods because of this. We are going to take a breather for a few months while we shop for a suitable location and then we’ll be back. Hopefully, food costs will cool down in the industry by then. I also hope real estate will cool down too because, right now, the real estate market is volatile and not the best time to be looking for a new place. But, I’ll find one.”
When the family decided to close the current location of the restaurant, Gino, 70, thought it was the perfect time to retire and leave the option for his children to perpetuate his legacy if they wish. Although he regularly helped out at the restaurant, son Vito also works in landscaping. Daughter Tina now lives in Florida, so it will likely be son Nick who expects to announce a reopening by year’s end.
When he closes shop this week, Gino plans to return to his hometown in Italy to enjoy a few months of R&R. Gino said he is looking forward to retirement but it’s bittersweet. He has been overwhelmed these last few weeks with emotion and sadness, as loyal customers came by to share memories and to wish him well.
“People are so disappointed,” Gino said. He explained that the restaurant was not only important to local customers but also to many who moved away from the area who came back whenever they were visiting or passing through. “They are going to miss us and I am going to miss them. I will always be grateful for their loyalty and support.”
The mood was somber on Saturday as customers filed into their preferred booth or table for one last meal.
“I’ve been coming here at least three times a week since they were over at the mall,” said Joe Lee of Chester. He works as a parking lot attendant at the MacDade Mall and in Eddystone. “The food is incredible — everything they make is great. I especially love their Chicken Marsala. But what I really like is that they treat me like family. I call Vito and Nicky my little brothers and I call Tina my little sister. I watched these kids grow up. From the moment I walked into their restaurant for the first time, they welcomed me like family.”
Loyal customers Tom and Paulette Clark of Aldan were there for their last meal with Paulette’s brother Richard Nyiri of Aldan. The Clarks dine at Italian Delight at least once a week and have celebrated every one of their 14 wedding anniversaries there. They all have their favorite dishes —Paulette likes the Grillato and onion rings, Richard likes their veal and seafood dishes, and Tom enjoys their pizza and Stromboli.
“We are all going to miss their pizza,” Paulette expressed. “But mostly, we are going to miss the people here. We did a lot of takeout this past year here to keep them going. This is our favorite place. They have our drinks on the table before we even get in here. They know us well and they treat us like family.”
Tom added, “In all the years we have come here, we have never had a single problem with anything. I am 51 and I have come here my whole life, since they were over at MacDade Mall. When you walk through the door, it’s like you walked into a family member’s home. We know all the servers, the owners, everyone — this is the friendliest place around. I can’t even tell you how much we are going to miss it.”
“Without our customers, we never would have survived the pandemic. Without our customers, we wouldn’t even have an Italian Delight. Our customers and their support is what kept us going all these years. It’s always sad to say goodbye. It is a very humbling experience and this is a very sad time, but maybe it is also a blessing. We hope to come back even stronger. In the meantime, we say Grazie Tanto—we cannot thank our customers enough for their loyalty and support. They are like family and they really do mean everything to us.”
— Nick Guardavaccaro, who owns Italian Delight with his father Gino
Margie Wortz if Collegeville was dining with her friend Rita O’Brien of Glen Mills. The two women have been friends for 57 years, since they worked together at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital. Wortz said she dines at Italian Delight every single weekend when she comes to Delaware County to shop or to visit family and friends.
“I always come here,” explained Wortz. “I love their pizza and their chicken fingers and their service is the best. We especially like our waitress, Bridget (West). We sure are going to miss it here.”
“Don’t forget to mention their turkey clubs — they are the best,” O’Brien interjected. “We come for the food and the friendly service.”
Robin Gordon and her friend Valerie Diagosta expressed their sadness over the restaurant’s closing as they sat in a booth near the windows facing MacDade Boulevard. The Collingdale residents say they dine there at least once a month.
“Coming here is a tradition for everyone who lives around here,” Gordon said as she waited for her favorite Shrimp Fra Diavolo to be brought to the table.
Diagosta, who said she enjoys ordering pizza and strombolis there, added, “I’m Italian so I like going to a place that has authentic, good Italian food and this place does!”
Gino and his sons have been expressing their gratitude to dedicated customers ever since the closing was announced. They want every customer to know how much their loyalty and patronage has been appreciated.
“Without our customers, we never would have survived the pandemic,” Nick said with sincerity. “Without our customers, we wouldn’t even have an Italian Delight. Our customers and their support is what kept us going all these years. It’s always sad to say good-bye. It is a very humbling experience and this is a very sad time, but maybe it is also a blessing. We hope to come back even stronger. In the meantime, we say Grazie Tanto—we cannot thank our customers enough for their loyalty and support. They are like family and they really do mean everything to us.”