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SUCCESS BY THE SLICESalvatore's Keeps Growing 30 Years Later When Salvatore "Soccer Sam" Fantauzzo used research from a high school home economics project to open his first pizzeria nearly 30 years ago in Rochester, he had no idea what it would lead to. "I took the class for the extra credit," said Fantauzzo, the founder and chief executive of Salvatore's Old Fashioned Pizzeria.
Early next year , Salvatore's expands south to open the first of four locations in North Carolina. In Rochester, five more pizzerias are also scheduled to open in 2008 but no locations have been selected yet. Many of the Salvatore locations are in the city and inner-ring suburbs. Fantauzzo said that during the next two years, 15 to 20 more locations are planned for the company, which employs about 400 and will have an estimated $15 million in annual sales for 2007. Fantauzzo's home economics project sparked the then 17-year-old's interest and gave him insight into the pizza industry. With that information, Fantauzzo took $5,000 in savings to rent a former shoe store at 1985 E. Main St., which he remodeled at night. He bought used equipment to open it. He attributes the success of the pizzerias to the help and support he received from family and friends. Many of the people who worked for Fantauzzo were students at Eastridge. Several of those former students continue working for Fantauzzo in key positions with the company. John Coraggioso started hanging out at Salvatore's when he was 12, slicing cheese and making pizza boxes. A 1984 graduate of Eastridge, Coraggioso is the president and chief financial officer overseeing day-to-day operations of the company. Coraggioso operates six locations. Ray Lo Re is a 1992 Eastridge graduate and operates two shops, including the newest one at 2055 E. Ridge Road near Eastridge High School. The shop is called Eastridge. Michael DelGaizo, vice president of the company, is a graduate of Aquinas Institute and married to Lisa Arbore-DelGaizo, Fantauzzo's cousin and a 1985 graduate of Eastridge. DelGaizo is responsible for product development and quality control . The DelGaizos operate three locations. Fantauzzo, who is known as Soccer Sam and the host of a soccer show on WHTK-AM (1280), handles the marketing of the business. Salvatore's was the first pizzeria in the Rochester area to offer such items as mozzarella sticks and chicken fingers as well as full-menu delivery. At that time most pizzerias sold beer and pop or submarine sandwiches. "I made the decision to be different to create a different market share," he said. "That's when we really took off." Fantauzzo said 30 years ago he was able to take $5,000 to start his business and grow. Now, he estimates it would take about $200,000 to open a proper pizzeria to be competitive. "It's impossible to be an independent today because of the marketing dollars the national chains have," he said. Fantauzzo advises anyone considering opening a business to go to college first for a degree in accounting and marketing. That person should also find a franchise they're comfortable with and enjoy. "I lived in a different era," he said. "I learned the hard way." DALEXAND@DemocratandChronicle.com Copyright (c) Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. All rights reserved. |
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From the first shop on East Main Street in Rochester, which opened in July 1978, Fantauzzo's business has grown by building a reputation for quality. Today, there are 15 locations in the chain, of which 11 are operated by graduates of Eastridge High School in Irondequoit, the school where Fantauzzo completed the home economics project and from which he graduated. 