Antonio Aiello is the owner and creator of Capri Pizza in Sicklerville,NJ. Antonio opened the pizzeria 2009 which was 5 years after he first arrived in America from Italy. Over time Antonio’s English steadily improved and the pizzeria became popular within the area. In this interview he discusses the the journey he took to accomplish his dream of having his own shop. As you might expect any journey that requires you to venture over 4000 miles from home is not an easy one. But this was the road Antonio used to achieve the American dream. Now 33 Antonio is happily married to his wife also from his hometown in Italy, with have become American citizens and are expecting the arrival of their first child.
How old were you when you came to America and where were you coming from?
I came to the United States when I was only 18 years old. So it was 2005 when I came here and I had never traveled anywhere else before coming here. I came from Monte Di Procida, Naples, Italy. A little town by the sea outside of Naples. Monte Di Procida has a lot of Americans but I chose to come here because my aunt and uncle are here so it was easier for me to come to New Jersey, be sponsored and start working.
Did you always want to own your own pizzeria?
Yes, you know because I always wanted to try and do better in my life because Italy is beautiful but their are not that many opportunities ,so a pizzeria, restaurant or whatever I can to do better. My wife is a professor and the school is paying for her to get a higher degree in computer science. A fellowship I think it’s called that is the type of opportunity you get in America.
The idea behind the name Capri:
Why not open a pizzeria in Italy and what was the process like?
Italy is not… they don’t give you more opportunities. It’s hard, if you don’t have money it’s hard to start and you need to work really hard to get into the position that you need to be able to open the pizzeria. It took a couple years to start Capri. It was tough working 24/7 trying to do the best you can and trying to have people recognize you for good quality and the work that you do. In Italy I worked around food a little bit but when I came to America I had to learn how to take care of a business. Lucky for me I had my uncle to show me. Then four years later I was ready to start my own.
Can you tell me more about the the Grandma pizza on the menu?
Click play to hear Antonio talk about Capri’s Grandma pizza:
What is the most rewarding aspect of running the pizzeria?
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