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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Nunzio Cicero, owner of Cicero's Pizza Shop, supervises as his grandson, Robert LaVerdi Jr., whips up a pepperoni pizza.
Cicero's makes good
pizza at sensible prices
By Michelle Alaimo
For more than 30 years, Cicero's Pizza Shop has thrived on a simple recipe for success: Superior customer service, great-tasting pizza and reasonable prices.
Customers might feel as if they've entered a time warp when they see prices ranging from $5 to $14 for pizzas. That's because owner Nunzio Cicero, 86, hasn't raised prices in 13 years, even though the cost for supplies and minimum wages have gone up.
"We just make a good pizza," says Robert LaVerdi Sr., Cicero's son-in-law and manager.
Cicero's keeps prices down and quality up by only selling pizzas, salads and drinks. While pizza lovers can get their orders to go, the restaurant does not offer delivery.
All of Cicero's virtually oil-free pizzas are made with fresh vegetables that are sliced and diced daily and homemade dough and sauce.
They even grate all their own cheese and cook all of their own sausage to ensure the ingredients are the freshest they can be, says LaVerdi.
Cicero didn't just stumble onto how to make a good pizza. He learned how to make Sicilian pizza from his stepdaughter, who started the business in the Crossroads area in 1956. In 1968, Cicero left behind his job in the wholesale business and moved from Niagara Falls to Cupertino to take over the business.
In 1986, the popular pizza place was forced to move from its Crossroads location because the property was sold. It has been at its current location on the corner of Blaney Avenue and Stevens Creek Boulevard ever since.
After being in business for so long, LaVerdi says, he has noticed a lot of changes in people's pizza habits. "People used to just order a pizza," LaVerdi says. "Now they do half and half."
He also notices how customers used to not be afraid to pick the pizza up and eat it. "Now everyone wants plates, forks, and knives," LaVerdi says. He says he doesn't mind though, because things change.
One adjustment his family did have to make was getting used to Californians' pizza choices. LaVerdi was shocked to learn that Californians put ham and pineapple on a pizza. He adds that New Yorkers like plain pizzas such as pepperoni or sausage.
LaVerdi can still remember the strangest combination pizza someone has ever ordered--pineapple, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes and anchovies. He says the pizza would taste strange enough with the pineapple/pepper mix, but adding the anchovies on top would certainly stir up the taste buds.
The Cicero house specialty and biggest seller is a no-meat pizza. For $12, customers can get a large pizza piled high with veggies such as onions, bell peppers and olives.
However, kids still clamor for the basic cheese and pepperoni pizza.
When it comes to the restaurant atmosphere, Cicero keeps things simple. The cozy family restaurant features pictures of youth baseball teams sponsored by the pizza parlor and it even has a picture of his grandson, Robert LaVerdi Jr., working in the restaurant when he was 3 years old. Now 27, he still works there today.
It's a family affair at the popular pizza place with families packing the joint on Fridays and Saturdays. Cicero says he knows all of his customers by name and that he has known many of his customers since they were babies.
Cicero's Pizza Shop is located at 20010 Stevens Creek Blvd. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. For more information, call 408.253-2226.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
