Dalonzo's

Back on December 7th I wrote an article entitled Dear Santa. It was a wish list for what we would like to have in town that would make the ville a more attractive place to live. At the time one of the things on my list was a decent restaurant where you could get a good home cooked meal and possibly have a cocktail or two while waiting to be served. I must have been partially brain dead at the time. When I wrote that piece I never once thought of Dalonzo's-On-The-Hill. It wasn't an intentional slight. It was simply an oversight with no insult intended. As I said I must have been partially brain dead at the time. Thankfully a couple of days later some of our good readers reminded us of Dalonzo's.

Shortly after that some other commenters with no common decency attempted a character assassination of Dalonzo's proprietor bringing up unsubstantiated rumors and inuendos. It was obvious they were shooting off their mouths with nothing to back it up with and were hiding behind the anonymous signature. Talk about being brain dead. I doubt if those people even have enough brain matter to determine if it's functioning. It was very upsetting to me and Nick to say the least. Again I apologize that those comments got past me. It won't happen again.

First off anyone's personal life is their business and their business alone. It is certainly not my concern and no concern of anyone else. We'll write on public personas and events. There's no shortage of material for subjects in that arena. Time permitting politicians alone can keep you very busy.

Speaking of public personas lets take a look at Nick Dalonzo and what he's contributed to our fair village. Wellsville is very fortunate to have one of their hometown sons decide there is a future in the village and that he decided to stay here. Nick was born and raised here. He went through the Wellsville school system. He got his start in the food business back in the early 80s when Dalonzo's Pizza opened down on Commerce Street after Crucible Steel closed their doors. Even before that Nick had a passion for cooking. His cooking education came from one of the best sources available to anyone. He picked up his culinary skills from his mother and grandmother. Papa Joe had to have some input too. Jo Jo's sauce is one of the best you'll find anywhere.

After a fire put the pizza shop out of business in 1988 Nick went on to be a x-ray tech but he never lost his passion for cooking. Ten years later Nick put it all on the line and opened his own pizza shop here in town and it was enthusiastically welcomed. A few years later he was able to expand his shop into a full line Italian restaurant with some old family recipes and quite a few of his own. Nick dropped pizza from the name and renamed his eatery Dalonzo's. You could still get the same great tasting pizza but he also gave us additional choices with an expanded menu.

While all this was going on Nick got very involved with our fair community. He is very active in our Chamber-of-Commerce and there is hardly a Chamber event that is held that Nick isn't involved in some manner. Just earlier this month he portrayed Santa in the Christmas parade. He also lends his help to the revitalization committee. I remember seeing him and his son Nicholas helping to clear the brush up at the floodwall. Believe me that is hot, dirty work but Nick was there for it all.

Nick is a very real benefit for our community. How he finds time to run a business full time and still have time left for all he does is beyond me. He has a heart as big as the state of Texas and has amply displayed his dedication and devotion to our hometown.

Now a days he is the owner and operator of Dalonzo's-On-The-Hill located in the old Fairview School building up in Hillcrest. What he has done up there is nothing short of amazing with the bar, the lounge, restaurant, banquet facilities, theme rooms and game room. It is a great place for banquets, parties or meetings of any sort or just a real nice place to go for dinner. Not only are the facilities quite attractive the menu is second to none. For the best in Italian cuisine you need not look any farther than up on the hill.

They have a very attractive web site that can be found at http://www.dalonzos.com/. You can find their complete menu there and can even get orders delivered. They even have a coupon you can print up for a discount. Although not located within the village limits Dalonzo's-On-The-Hill is very definitely an asset to this piece of heaven we call home.

Before closing there is one other thing I want to mention. Back in February of this year Nick allowed some promoters to hold a "rave" up there. Nick told me himself that he was naive about just what a rave was and at the time so was I. I just thought it was a bunch of hard rock music lovers looking for a place to party. I was only partially right but from what I've been told by Nick and others that attended it went very smoothly with out a lick of trouble from anyone there. It was a huge crowd and a very profitable night for the establishment. For the promoters it was extrememly sucessful and they have been after Nick to hold more. Because of suspected drug use by some of those in attendence Nick has turned down five or six additional opportunities for the good of the community. Even though he has a chance to make some big bucks that's the kind of guy Nick is. That tells me he has a good head on his shoulders. That's just one reason Nick Dalonzo is a real plus for the ville.

Stop by sometime. Have a bite to eat. If you have a drink make sure you have your designated driver with you. Nick puts his heart and soul into what he serves. Once you try it you'll see. As Jo Jo says "Seven days without Dalonzo's pizza makes one week"...

ole nib