A Chuckatuck secret no more
Published 10:28 pm Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Nestled on the corner or King’s Highway and Godwin Boulevard in Chuckatuck is a pizza lover’s haven.
Opened in November, Jimmy’s Pizza and Subs is owned by Jimmy and Nikki Tsipliareles. It is the couple’s fifth restaurant. But, they said, the Chuckatuck location is their “ideal spot.”
“I’d rather have a smaller business in a great location than a 140 seat business anywhere,” Nikki said. “We’ve been looking at this location for the past 10 years. We watched it like hawks. … One day we were driving past and I looked back and said to Jimmy that it looked like it had closed. I said we’d stop later, but he wanted to do it right then. We started making phone calls immediately, and here we are.”
Born in Greece, and having moved to the United States when he was 9-years-old, Jimmy began making pizzas when he was 13 years old on Broadway in New York City. And his passion has been pizzas ever since.
“My first job making pizzas was at Cono Pizza in New York City,” he said. “They’re still open today.”
Jimmy’s Pizza and Subs’ menu offers a lot more than just pizza and subs. It includes homemade desserts such as canolis, cheesecake and tiramisu as well as entrees including pastas, seafood, burgers, subs and wings.
“I’ve had sports guys tell me our wings are better than Buffalo Wild Wings and Hooters,” Nikki said.
All the meals at Jimmy’s are homemade – from the crust to grating the cheese – and ingredients used are fresh. The steak in the Philly cheesesteak sandwich even comes from Philadelphia.
Jimmy also has a special sauce of olive oil, vinegar and spices customers insist he should bottle.
“You can put it on anything – sandwiches, fish, pork. I have one girl who says she drinks it when she’s sick and it makes her better,” Jimmy said.
Ben Chapman, a Chuckatuck resident for 35 years, said he has gained 10 pounds since Jimmy’s came to town. He’s a regular who comes for coffee and or food on a daily basis.
“It’s very, very good food,” Chapman said. “I’ve never seen anything that can match this place come through here. My favorite is the Philly cheesesteak sandwich and anything prefixed by the word Greek.”
“We’re introducing more Greek food little by little,” said Nikki, who also has roots in Greece.
Nikki said besides the food, she takes pride in the restaurant’s décor and appearance.
“We’re very, very picky about the kind of restaurant we run,” she said. “We put a lot of work into this place.”
The countertops are granite and warm artwork lines the walls. There is also a wide screen television, which always has the news or a game on.
The couple both says they expect to be in the area for years to come.
“I love this location,” Nikki said. “I love the people here. I love this village.”
“I like to bring good food, happiness and friendship to the people here,” Jimmy said. “I just love to cook and please the public. This is just the place to be.”
“Amen,” Chapman chimed in.