Brother-run Sarracino Pizzeria is hoping to ‘bring a taste of Naples’ to Cleona

Sarracino, a new pizza shop that’s going to be run by Damiano Scotto, 22, and Christian Scotto, 19, is under renovation and will be coming soon to Cleona Square Shopping Center.

The brothers said they hope to finish construction this month for a grand opening in December.

They started in their father’s restaurant, Pizza Town, in Jonestown. After learning the cooking and customer service skills, they’re moving on to their own place.

“The nice thing was that we worked with our dad, so it was definitely a lot easier for us to learn everything of the pizza shop, as far as work-wise and customer service and everything. That helped us a lot, definitely,” Christian Scotto said. “There are also pros and cons when you work with your family, of course, but at the end of the day, it’s definitely a lot easier for someone to learn the job.”

But this isn’t going to be another Pizza Town location, they said — they’re taking what they learned and making something of their own. One of the changes will be using a conveyor belt and pizza press rather than the old-fashioned way of making the pies, so the industry will be easier to work in.

Christian highlighted the quality ingredients, some of which will be imported from Italy.

“We’re going to use an Italian flour, which is 00 flour (finely ground), and it makes the pizza more digestible,” he said. “We use tomatoes that are imported from Italy, and some other important meats like prosciutto, mortadella, stracciatella, fresh mozzarella, and all that good stuff.”

Damiano Scotto said people should expect something new and different from other pizza shops in the area. He said they live nearby and regularly pass the Cleona Square Shopping Center, so they moved forward with the space. Overall, the process of researching and starting the business has lasted about two or three years.

“We wanted to bring something different around here,” Damiano said. “It’s our first thing that we’re doing together, so we found the spot and we were like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’”

All of the pizzas will be 12 inches and will start at $9.99, he said. There will also be gluten-free options, subs, pasta, salads, sides, and homemade sauces. Desserts will be brought in from an Italian company.

Christian said Sarracino will have a large discount on the first day to get people in to try the food, but they hope the quality and flavors will speak for themselves.

The space isn’t finished yet, but they said customers can expect barstools by the large storefront windows, tables and chairs, and walls decorated with neon signs of Italian words.

The brothers posted a photo in front of the under-construction restaurant in September. It has garnered around 800 likes, 90 comments, and 110 shares.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BWzLMG9n7

“We received some nice comments that people can’t wait to try it. It was very nice to receive such comments without even opening yet,” Christian said. “I think people are going to love it.”