The best pizza I ever ate was the large Mediterranean pie created by Anthony “Tony” Christopher Iaquinto in his family’s pizzeria, Tony’s Pizza City. Iaquinto’s father, Anthony Sr., opened the shop 63 years ago at 901 E. Willow Grove Ave. in Wyndmoor, with his wife, Giulia.
Iaquinto once told me that, when his parents opened the business in 1962, there were days when there were almost no customers, but when they started using the recipes they grew up with, things picked up considerably. “The dough is a family recipe,” he said in a 2017 conversation. “My mom learned to make bread in Italy in the town of Vietri di Potenza with her mom. She would make the dough and knead it at the table. We still use that recipe.”
Iaquinto graduated in 1976 from Springfield Township High School and then attended trade school to study air conditioning repair. However, he never worked in that field. “I hung around here [the pizza shop] all my life, from elementary school on,” he told the Local in 2017. Iaquinto took over the business when his father retired in 1989.
In 2018, Iaquinto made news, but not because of his food. A real estate developer planned an 8,000-square-foot retail and condominium development in Wyndmoor’s central business district, which involved buying the existing businesses on the 900 block of East Willow Grove Avenue to make way for the new structures. All the business owners agreed to sell except Iaquinto. “I will never sell to them,” he told the Local at the time.
The developer was forced to reimagine his original plan. As a result, the three-story building at 909 E. Willow Grove Ave. now adjoins Tony’s Pizza City on the east and Captain Andy’s Seafood Market, which shares a wall with Tony’s.
“The developers weren’t very nice, and I wasn’t very nice, either,” Iaquinto said. “I’ve had fences around my building and sidewalks going for about a year and a half or longer. People can’t access us; they can no longer park on the side street.” Eventually, though, all parties were able to co-exist.
Iaquinto sold the business in June 2022 to Luciano Grande Tula, who retained the name Tony’s Pizza City.
After he retired, Iaquinto volunteered for Montgomery County Meals on Wheels in Glenside at the Mount Carmel Church. “He loved it there, and they loved him,” his wife, Marianne, said.
Iaquinto was a memorable character for many reasons. For example, even though he worked with various meats almost every day for decades, he was a vegetarian. Marianne explained, “He became a vegetarian after watching a documentary called ‘Forks Over Knives.’ Our son, Chris, and two grandchildren are all vegetarians. In fact, our two grandkids have never tasted meat in their lives. I have been a vegan since 2014.”
Among the numerous tributes to Iaquinto on the William Rowen Grant Funeral Home (Southampton) website, is this one from his friend Lynn Catrambone Brode: “I loved going to see Tony at Pizza City since we were in middle school together. We would chat between pizza orders. … I was planning to meet with him last week but woke to the news of his passing. I can still hear his soothing voice. Mrs. Iaquinto raised an amazing son. Tony was such a warm and caring person who would always find time for you. A true friend, indeed. I will miss him dearly.”
Iaquinto died of heart disease June 23 in his Wyndmoor home. He was 68. His memorial service was Aug. 3.
He is survived by his wife, Marianne (Gioquindo), son Christopher, grandchildren Althea and Grey, mother Giulia (who is 98 years old), sister Lisa Bornholdt (Jeff), nephews Kristofer Bornholdt (Taylor) and Thomas Bornholdt, nieces Kelly Clinefelter (John), Susan Owen (Dave) and Melissa Coleman (Zach), and many great-nieces and great-nephews. Iaquinto was preceded in death by his father, Anthony Sr., brother Joseph, and sister, Anna High.
Memorial donations may be made to Sam’s Hope (samshope.org), a local charity named for Iaquinto’s beloved dog that supplies pet food and other necessities to struggling families who might otherwise have to turn in their pets to a shelter.
Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.
