Also entering the City Avenue pie wars is entrepreneur Tony Altomare, who on Feb. 22 rolls out the flagship Tony Roni's location at 4504 City Ave., across from Bala Shopping Center. On the first day, he plans to hand out free slices to folks in traffic.
Altomare, a former financial planner who went into the food biz 11 years ago with Tony A's pizza (now three locations), intends Tony Roni's as a franchise. Because Tony A's is a common name, he says, he decided to franchise under something new.
Menu will include salads, sandwiches and wraps. He hopes to open Tony Roni'ses in Center City, Havertown, Hatfield and South Jersey this year. Northern Liberties' Jesse Gardner, who also designed Cuba Libre and Vietnam, did the decor.
Coming and going
Sticks & Stones won't break your bones. Or your wallet. Owner Nick Meglino describes his bar, which he hopes to open at 1909 E. Passyunk Ave. in early April, as a hang for the neighborhood. (Meglino last year sold Felicia's at 11th and Ellsworth, opening in about three weeks under Manayunk's Scott and Erin Wallace as Devil's Den.) Meglino describes Sticks & Stones' menu as an "eclectic mess" (pizzas, an Italian version of mac and cheese, meat loaf). The name? From a TV show: "I want people to drive by and smile and look at the name. I want to catch them off-guard."
Saturday is the scheduled opening of a South Jersey branch of Penang (480 Route 38 E., Maple Shade 856-755-0188), from a branch of the family that owns the Malaysian BYOB in Chinatown, which just reopened after a renovation. The Penang in Maple Shade will be sibling to those in Edison and West Windsor, N.J.
