Mary’s Pizza Shack is reopening Napa location after 8 months of closure
The classic comfort foods of pizza, pasta, soups and salads from Mary’s Pizza Shack are returning to Napa with the pizza shop reopening this month following eight months of closure.
The Sonoma-based company announced the news on its Facebook page and Instagram last week. Founder Mary Fazio’s grandson, Vince Albano, and longtime Mary’s operator Mayra Martinez-Cornejo will reopen the location as equal, full-time partners.
Albano, the former CEO of the company before it divided into separate entities in July, said Martinez-Cornejo had worked for Mary’s for over 25 years and asked if she could reopen the Napa location when it was announced that it would close.
Restaurants are typically kept in the family, so Albano decided to partner with Martinez-Cornejo to reopen the Napa location.
“I decided to give her an opportunity and be partners with her because I know she is going to be an amazing partner,” Albano said.
The dining spot is expected to reopen in its same location, but an exact date hasn’t been determined yet.
The California pizza chain has served Fazio’s father’s recipes since the opening of its Boyes Hot Springs location in 1959.
It has restaurants in Sonoma, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Vacaville, Fairfield and two in Santa Rosa.
The Napa location closed back in January, along with the Novato and Dixon locations, due to “necessary action” as Fazio’s family continued restructuring to keep the chain successful.
The company, Mary’s Pizza Shack Inc., also dissolved in July with the remaining restaurants becoming individually owned and operated by Fazio’s extended family members.
All intellectual property and licensing agreements are housed under a new umbrella company, Three Albano Sisters, LLC, and each ownership group has a corporation that oversees its own locations.
“Technically, the license agreement ensures that no one operator can change a recipe or remove a core menu item,” Marie Albano-Dito, a granddaughter of the founder, told The Press Democrat back in July. “The consistency of service comes from our shared goals as a family to deliver our Noni’s brand of Italian comfort food.”
Albano said they’ve brought back many of the employees who worked at the location before it closed and are hiring more.
“We really appreciate all the positive support and feedback we’re hearing about our reopening,” he said.
You can reach Staff Writer Sara Edwards at 707-521-5487 or sara.edwards@pressdemocrat. com. On Twitter @sedwards380.
