InFocus
a z z i P rs! a W By Brandon Klein
’za is r o f e ’s lov ever y t i C Grove nger than stro
I
t’s not hard to find nicely sliced examples of Grove City’s love for pizza. Between the launch of Visit Grove City’s Pizza Trek in 2019 and CityScene Magazine’s hotly contested best pizzeria award in this year’s Best of the ’Bus, it’s clear Grove City makes a good pizza. Since 2009, when our sister publication launched Best of the ’Bus, a Grove City pizza place has been in contention each year to win the voter’s choice award. So, here’s a slice of what Grove City has to offer.
Next Generation, Same Recipe
Zamarelli’s Pizza Palace continues to serve the same recipes since it opened in 1963. Andrew Zamarelli moved from Pennsylvania to Ohio to attend college at The Ohio State University and never left. His family has lived in the Grove City area since the mid ’50s. Zamarelli’s offers several Italian dishes ranging from pizza to lasagna and ravioli. Any dish that comes with the restaurant’s homemade sausage is popular. Its pizzas also use smoked provolone cheese instead of mozzarella. “They were all of his mother’s Italian recipes she brought over in the 1900s,” says Constance “Tina” Middendorf, Zamarelli’s daughter. “We still use all those recipes today.” Middendorf’s husband, Jack Middendorf, worked for the business since high school. As fate would have it, the pizzeria 8 March/April 2021
Zamarelli’s anchovy and sausage pizza
is where the two met. They bought the business from Zamarelli, who continued working at the pizzeria until his death in 1995. Zamarelli was heavily involved in the community, supporting the school district, religious organizations and other community entities. After purchasing the business, the Middendorfs kept the restaurant exactly as Zamarelli left it, though they did add a few new menu items. The community has loved and supported them since day one, so they didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. www.DiscoverGroveCity.com
