Melted cheese, sweet tomato sauce, and deliciously baked crust all roll into the downtown State College experience. Pizza shops of wide varieties line the downtown streets, but not all pizza spots come with a sprinkle of history.
Giuseppe’s Pizzeria by Brothers calls 204 East College Avenue its new home, and the storefront has always been a downtown presence. It has worn rotating masks before landing on its most recent owner, a son deciding to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Once owned by Angelo Pistone in 1976, Giuseppe’s Pizzeria has a new boss in Mr. Pistone’s son, Joseph, who returned to downtown State College to continue his dad’s legacy. Now running the same pizza shop his father did in 1976, Joseph is ready to rewrite the narrative of good pizza in the community, all while using top-quality ingredients and cooking an amazingly fresh crust.
Speaking with Joseph, he described his ultimate visions for his newly owned shop, focusing on pizza slices and pure history. “I wanted that place back. It had to be that place,” Joseph expressed in earnest, continuing with, “It’s a memorial to Dad who passed away in ’04… There’s a whole wall dedicated to Dad and his brothers.”
Now, Giuseppe’s Pizzeria by Brothers has been open for a few months, and it was only natural to get a verdict of how it measured up to the mix of pizza shops in our downtown State College area.
Sticking to a favorite, I entered the aromatic store and bought myself a pepperoni pizza slice, a beautiful golden piece calling me through a shining glass case. After the first bite, I could taste the care and tender history between the pepperoni slices and perfected grease. It tasted fulfilling to eat pizza part of a legacy, a reminder that families will always live on. If we’re lucky, families even spend decades baking excellent pizza for their entire town to devour.
Giuseppe’s Pizzeria by Brothers is open Sunday through Friday, 10:30 A.M. to 11 P.M., and Saturday from 10:30 A.M. to 9 P.M.
