THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER
After months of anticipation, Sally’s Apizza opens its Stamford location
STAMFORD — Just before the hour, the line wrapped around the block. Louis Armstrong crooned from the speakers. Every so often, someone stepped out of the queue and peered at the neon red sign above the door, anxious because time moves more slowly when you’re excited.
Then, right at 3 p.m., general manager Jonathan Bara stepped out the door. “The moment has arrived,” he said to the lucky few standing nearby. Sally’s Apizza in Stamford was officially open.
After months of construction, design and waiting, the pristine glass doors parted, and people began to stream steadily in. Some eager eaters had already pulled on Sally’s Apizza T-shirts over their everyday clothes, a testament to the excitement from the crowd.
Lori Gunn said she ducked out of work a little early just to get to Sally’s early. Out of the three classic New Haven pizzerias — Frank Pepe’s, Sally’s, and Modern — she backs Sally’s all the way. So does her daughter, Cassie. Her son-in-law, Thomas Cahill, is more of a Pepe’s guy, which he admitted quietly. All
three were thrilled about Downtown Stamford’s newest arrival.
Of course, the city already has good pizza — great, even — Gunn said, but this was still exciting. The days of long treks up to New Haven were over.
“For the sake of convenience, this is great,” she said.
Jeremy Young, 17, and his mother Sheryl had also taken their place on line to ensure an early taste of the newest addition to the local pizza scene. Young is a complete devotee. He reviews pizza for Stamford High School’s student newspaper and obsessively ranks every slice he tastes.
“When I review, I always do plain,” he said, because stripping everything back to the basics gives every pizza an equal playing field. For the record, he added, the best slice already in Stamford comes from Belltown Pizza. He ranks every slice on a one to 10 scale, and only six out of hundreds have scored better than a 9. Of course, Sally’s is one them. Last time he tasted one of their pies, he gave Sally’s a 9.1.
Nearby, Bobby Consiglio — one of the former co-owners of Sally’s and son of its founder Sal Consiglio — watched the line with a keen eye as people trickled in and out.
“Last time I was here, it was all concrete and broken walls,” he said. Now, he said, “It looks like something out of a movie.”
General manager Bara said he expected to serve at least 300 people at the grand opening. And the new location — with its glossy floors, bespoke finishes and fully stocked bar — was already off to a promising start. At least 70 people eagerly awaited a thin, crispy slice right when the restaurant opened, and potential patrons popped up like crocus in the springtime.
An hour after the doors opened, people were already clustered in an annex near the back of the joint ordering pies to go. Around that time, customers dug
into their sheet pan-sized pies with reckless abandon and sipped on cocktails from the bar as they ate.
Lori Gunn and her family ordered
two pies — one tomato, the other cheese and chicken. Their faces were flush with the afterglow of a good meal. Daughter Cassie said the pizzas at the new
location are thinner than they are up in New Haven. Thomas, her husband, said he thinks they’re just as good but agrees that they’re different.
“There’s a hundred years of seasoning on the oven in New Haven,” he joked. “This one will get there.” All three said the pizza exceeded expectations.
Young and his mother ordered two whole pizzas — which sat half-unfinished by the end of their meal.
“I could eat this all,” he said with a contented sigh, “but I won’t.”
Like the Gunn-Cahill clan, the Youngs reveled in the glory of a truly delicious slice. With a slice in hand, Young mustered up a final ranking.
“It’s sitting between a 9.2 and 9.3,” he said with a grin. “It’s even better than I remember.”