Italian brick-oven pizzeria all in the family BY TAMMY MCKILLIP Correspondent Antonia's, located on Route 36 in Union Beach, serves a variety of traditional Italian dishes as well as its specialty, brick-oven pizza. Antonia's offers free pizza delivery throughout the northern Bayshore area. UNION BEACH - There's nothing unusual in an Italian-run family pizzeria business in New Jersey, but when the family is from New York City, by way of Florence, Italy, by way of Keyport, by way of Union Beach, it starts to sound like an interesting tale. Antonia's Brick Oven Pizzeria and Restaurant, located at 1017 Route 36, near the Hazlet-Union Beach border, has only been open for a month, but already the word of mouth is causing traffic jams in the tiny strip mall parking lot the restaurant shares with the Lighthouse Fishery. Owners Antonia and John Pepitone say they have been overwhelmed by the orders for pizza, paninis and homemade Italian foods, from mozzarella sticks to parmagiana, calapini, marsala and farfalle, all delivered free of charge seven days a week. "The response has been great," said Antonia Pepitone. "We really didn't advertise. The success has all been through word of mouth. Once people tried the pizzas, especially our Margherita pizza, which is, in my opinion, the best, they keep coming back for more." PHOTOSBYTAMMY MCKILLIP Many of the restaurant's customers have eagerly awaited the return of Antonia's cooking, since the couple closed their Broad Street Keyport establishment, Antonia's Gourmet Café, last year. "We needed a bigger place," she said. "Plus, we weren't really all that passionate about serving breakfast. It just wasn't enough for us." Originally from Bensonhurst and the Bronx, Pepitone said she and her husband have always been in the restaurant business. When they picked up and moved to Italy in 1992, it was on a whim. "We took a chance," she said. "We ended up living in Florence for about 10 years. My husband had a pizzeria there called Piero's¿ and we picked up most of the menu items from there." She said she and her husband and two sons moved to the Keyport area six years ago because she missed her family and wanted to be near them. They have since had another boy and are planning to incorporate a kid-friendly environment into the pizzeria. "I was watching my 6-year-old son make pizzas yesterday," she said. "He's a very active kid, and I was amazed at how much time he spent dedicated to turning the dough. He usually gets distracted with things, but for two days, he played with that dough. It gave me the idea to do private parties, where kids can make their own pizzas." Pepitone said that she plans to create a special party event where up to 10 kids can order and make their own individual multi-colored pizzas with their own toppings. She'll provide unlimited sodas, aprons, chef hats that they can take home with them, decorations, coloring mats and crayons, party favors, a theme cake and a special present from the restaurant to the birthday boy or girl. Pepitone said the cost of the party would vary depending on how many pizzas were ordered and what all was requested in the package, but the cost of a basic pizza creating party with cake, party favors, pizza dough, unlimited soda and party prize would be around $200. She plans to start the parties in June and has ordered colorful aprons and take-home hats to arrive then. The restaurant is open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and delivery is free all day to Keyport, Hazlet, Keansburg, Union Beach, Holmdel, Matawan, Aberdeen and Cliffwood. She said her husband makes the brick-oven pizzas, and she personally makes all the Italian dishes from scratch. "We use no preservatives," she said. "All the food and sauces are authentic Italian. Everything is homemade." She said her sons like to come in and help out on occasion and that she hopes to keep the restaurant a family business. Though the restaurant is open seven days a week, she said she and her family are happy with the busy schedule they keep. "We don't have much time to rest, but we're still young," she said. "We don't need to rest now." For more information on Antonia's Brick Oven Pizzeria and Restaurant, call (732) 888-0808.