Gus’s Pizza-A takeout tradition

BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com

LEWISTOWN – Whether you’ve grown up on Gus’s Pizza, eaten it super hot or super cold, patrons agree the Valley Street, Lewistown pizza joint is a Mifflin County legacy.

A great Mifflin County Classic. Gus’s Pizza Shop has been there for decades when you need a cheap and fast dinner. The time for pickup is always about 10- to 15-minute wait. “Best local pizza around, hands down,” one diner claimed.

Local pizza places are common in every small town. Cheap pizza made New York style with a semi sweet sauce.

One patron recalled just having moved to Lewistown and his neighbors were having a party. Some of them pitched in to help move some of the heavy stuff that they saw him struggling with. They invited him to join their party and he said he didn’t have anything to bring.

They told him to go down the street to Gus’s Pizza and pick up some pizza they ordered for them and that would be good enough.

Gus’s was busy when he got there, and the people there smiled and were friendly. He picked up the pizza and went back to the party. His first Gus’s pizza was awesome – hot flavor-full crestfallen of toppings and stringy cheese.

The cook staff was making subs and they looked great, too. The place was really busy, so that should have been his first clue.

Another diner on social media said, “If what you seek is good pizza then this is the place. Every time we visit my folks in the area, we have to stop and get some pizza.”

Gus’s might be a hole in the wall, but it’s always been that way. Locals look beyond that to find great pizza.

Some remember walking over to Gus’s after American Legion Sweetheart band practice, boasting, “Was the best then and still is today.”

Others remember their dad surprising them and bringing Gus’s along when he would visit. This particular patron claimed Gus’s is pretty much the same exact way it was from the beginning.

After all, they’ve never changed the recipe or add extras like calzones or stromboli or hoagies.

Don’t plan to dine-in; there’s no sit down in this place, just a place to pickup and pay. There’s prompt service when you order by the pie, sheet or slice.

Who knows, you might even get an unexpected history lesson.

“Hole in the wall pizza joints made pizza famous in Italy with Americans during World War II,” said Seth Yocum of Harrisburg. “They still make the best pizza today. I love Gus’s Pizza.”