Business - Longtime friends make West Ave. Pizza work

Owner Keith Loeber has been friends with Patricia Verdicchio and Vito Amato for more than 30 years, and when Loeber decided to buy the West Avenue Pizza shop, their friendships grew into something more like loving siblings who are known to have a squabble or two.

“We all help each other out around here. Our children, brothers and sisters, everyone comes in and helps out. It’s a good, family atmosphere,” Loeber said.

Amato added that West Avenue Pizza welcomes families with small children and are welcome to laugh and have fun with other children who are dining with their families.

“We aren’t annoyed by children. We want people to come in here and feel like they are at home,” he said.

Amato is not new to the pizza business. His father, Lorenzo Amato, owned Oma Pizza in the 1970’s through the 1990’s, which used to be located where the Congress Plaza is and eventually moved to Ballston Spa. When Loeber decided to open a pizza shop, he knew he wanted the best pizza chef available.

“We hunted him down and stole him,” Verdicchio added. “So far, about 30 percent to half of our customers remember Vito and his family from Oma’s. Even my sister from out of town remembered him from when she lived in town.”

Loeber said everything seemed to happen at the right time when he bought the property.

“I’m really into possibilities. I own three companies, and when I knew this place was up for sale, I knew it was a great opportunity,” he said. “It was a great location and the price was right, so we went for it.”

After completely renovating the older pizza shop, West Avenue Pizza opened with a completely new dining room, cooking facilities and menu. Most of the food is completely homemade, including the pizza dough and sauce.

“We want quality and consistency with our food. People like fresh so we don’t use frozen food,” Amato said. “Our menu will also change as we go. We want to try new things and see how our customers respond.”

In time, they hope to have in house dinners with a full service waitress, Skidmore specials and possibly a Monday night football night.

“We are open to possibilities,” Loeber said.

For now, they are trying to build up their customer base and get their name out to the public. They are just starting to see their first regular customers.

“There’s nothing better than a regular,” Amato said. “It’s not just about people coming in and spending their money. They are showing us they like our food and what we are doing here.”